


Blood for Pain

by RegalGirl94



Series: Blood [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-02 03:03:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 120,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17879882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalGirl94/pseuds/RegalGirl94
Summary: While distracted with rescuing Derek and Georgie, something sinister is brewing in Beacon Hills. Jessie - and Scott - are still dealing with the aftermath of the Nogitsune and the return of her soul. But now everyone has a target on their backs. The Deadpool may hide the identity of the Benefactor, but it reveals so many hidden identities, and hidden fears.





	1. Mexico

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the trailer;  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LMJmLGBl0I

Stiles and Lydia grew nervous under the dark cover of night in Mexico as they made their way to the back entrance of a building. Lydia spoke to the two guards in Spanish but one of them glanced them up and down before shaking his head.

The teens exchanged glances before Stiles reached into his pocket and pulled out a large card with a Dia De Los Muertos Skull on it. The guards exchanged looks before nodding their heads towards the camera in the top corner of the entrance. Stiles held up the card for the camera and one of the guards listened to their earpiece before opening the door for them.

They walked into the building, seeing a metal door at the end of the dark, dank hallway. They slowly made their way towards the door, gearing themselves up for what was behind it. Stiles pushed it open, and loud techno music flooding their ears as they found themselves in a large dance party that looked more like an orgy.

Men and women in varying amounts of clothing danced and ground against each other and drank, having the time of their lives. Lydia and Stiles pushed their way around the edge of the crowd until they got to the bar. Two overflowing shot glasses of vodka were pushed in front of them. Stiles began to reach for his wallet when they each felt a heavy, beefy hand fall on their shoulder, seeing the right-hand man of the big boss, Severo.

He grinned lecherously at them, speaking in his thick accent, "No. On the house." He frowned when they still didn't take the drinks. "Most American teenagers don't cross the border to refuse a drink."

"We didn't come to drink," Lydia told him, dropping a brass bullet into the shot glass with the earlier skull design etched into its metal.

* * *

Araya—the big boss of the Mexican Hunters—worked a knife through the stitching of a piece of fabric vigorously, "Severo hates this music. Me? I've always loved the music of youth. This kind, especially. It has a savage energy."

"We're here for Derek Hale," Lydia cut to the chase, speaking as confidently as she could.

"Is that so?" Araya smiled, as if she knew a secret.

"We know you have him," Lydia insisted calmly. "We've heard... you can be bought."

Stiles laid out five stacks of green bills one at a time, "It's 50,000 for Derek."

Araya set aside her knife and fabric, "Now, where does a teenage boy get money like this? Japanese mafia?" Her goons in the room cocked their guns threateningly as she leaned forward, smiling maliciously, "Not smart to come alone."

Stiles feigned confusion, inwardly smug, "What makes you think we came alone?"

Her smirk fell right off her face.

* * *

Malia Tate danced her way into the crowd, keeping her eyes on the exits.

Kira lounged on one of the comfy benches, laying low.

Jessie sat at the bar, her eyes scanning the people and the men in black on the terrace above.

Scott hung back at the entrance to another hallway, ready and waiting.

* * *

"You brought a wolf into my home?" Araya growled.

Stiles smirked, "We brought an Alpha."

* * *

Kira nervously noticed the goons with guns and walkie talkies weaving throughout the crowd, looking for something. Perhaps, looking for them. She got up off of her seat at the booths and made her way to the dancing Malia, frown on her face, "Something's happening."

Malia didn't stop bouncing on her feet, "I know."

"What do we do?" Kira squeaked.

"Blend in!" Malia told her loudly over the music.

Kira just stood there, looking at the other girl, lost.

Malia rolled her eyes, "Dance with me, dumbass."

Kira laughed a little in embarrassment and nodded, awkwardly moving her hips back and forth and waving her arms at her sides. Malia gave her a look, holding back laughter, but Kira just looked at a loss and still nervous. So, Malia stepped forward and put an arm around the kitsune's waist, pulling her in and guiding her movements to match her own swaying and bouncing to the beat of the music. Slowly, Kira got more and more comfortable, and was having fun dancing with Malia. She felt a funny tickling feeling in the pit of her stomach at their proximity.

Malia kept one eye and smile on Kira and the other eye on the guards around them to make sure they were still going unseen. She kept her arms around Kira, moving with her and having fun for once as people around them watched and moved closer, attracted.

* * *

"My friends..." the huntress sighed, standing up and peering out the window at the sky, "I don't think you're aware of your poor timing. Do you know what the dark moon is?"

"The part of the lunar phase when the moon is least visible in the sky," Lydia answered in a small voice.

"But do you know it's meaning?" Araya quizzed her, building to a larger point.

"Some people say it's a time of reflection," Lydia paused, averting her eyes. "Or grief."

"Grief and loss, mija," she replied tenderly. "I wonder why, when you and your friends have suffered so much loss, you would risk it again for someone like Derek Hale."

Stiles swallowed, keeping up his calm demeanor, "'Cause we don't like to lose."

They heard static over the radio and some men speaking Spanish before announcing 'Front clear' and then 'South clear'. Severo brought his radio to his lips, "North?" speaking some more Spanish. There was silence and Severo started calling the person's name with no answer.

Until Scott's voice spoke over the radio, "Stiles. Take 10 off the table."

Stiles smugly picked up one of the cash stacks and tucked it back into his jacket.

"Maybe you should just take the deal," Lydia suggested.

Araya laughed, "While I'm keen to follow the warning of a Banshee, I'm going to have to decline."

* * *

Kira and Malia danced closer together, keeping eyes out. Kira noticed one of the men in black approaching with a scowl and pointed him out to Malia. The she-wolf noticed a woman hunter leering behind Kira and leaned in, "You ready?"

Kira nodded, her glowing nun-chucks slipping out of her jacket sleeve and she whipped them out to face the hunter. She spun them around, confusing the woman with her speed before she whipped them at her, smacking her head, and knocking her out.

Malia had growled at her assailant, grabbing him by his shirt and lifting him up, slamming him onto his back.

Another hunter started to make his way over to them but was suddenly held in a choke hold by none other than Jessie Hansen. While rendered defenseless, Scott appeared to land a punch to his face, knocking him out cold. He took Jessie's hand and they made their way into a hallway with Malia and Kira behind them.

* * *

"Come on," Stiles goaded the matriarch. "Just give us Derek. You don't want him anyway. Haven't you noticed what a downer he is? No sense of humor, poor conversationalist. Just come on, take the money."

Araya smirked, holding her own radio to her lips, "Severo? Show them how the Calaveras negotiate."

* * *

The teens didn't get too far down the hallway before white smoke started to pour into the enclosed hall. Malia and Scott starting violently coughing, falling to their knees.

"Wolfsbane," Jessie realized, yelling to Kira, "Kira—run!"

The kitsune tried to but it was no use. She couldn't see anything and an approaching hunter easily bested her, knocking her to the ground.

Jessie reached her arms around Scott and Malia, trying to hold them up when Araya walked up to them with two more hunters, "Someone who has been an Alpha only a few months should be more careful—when facing a hunter of 40 years."

Scott choked, "All we want is Derek."

"My lobito," she cooed. "You're a long way from home."

Scott stared up at her, realization setting in, "You don't know where he is either."

Her smile fell into a snarl as she reached forward with her taser stick and zapped him in the chest. He groaned in pain, hearing only Jessie's voice calling his name before it all went black.

* * *

"Okay, so how long has it been?" Stiles asked as he, Jessie and Lydia followed Scott into the back room of the vet's office, referring to how long Derek had been radio silent.

"Weeks," Jessie groaned. "He hasn't gotten back to me or Scott. Marissa hasn't seen or heard from him. She's a wreck. I've had to bring her to my house so my mom can keep her calm. All the stress isn't good for the baby."

"We went to check out the loft when Marissa called me," Scott told Stiles and Lydia. "The alarm was on. Everything looked okay. But then, Marissa showed me these," he pulled out a metal container and put it on the table, pulling out one bullet casing and showing them the skull etchings on the side. "I sent a picture of it to Deaton. He said that it's the mark of a family of hunters based out of Mexico. The Calaveras. Dechtire says that they have a backwards code of conduct, like the Argents used to. She's only worked with them once, and there's a reason for that."

"What would they want with Derek?" Lydia asked.

"You don't think they killed him, do you?" Stiles added on.

Scott frowned, "I... I don't know. That's why you're here," he looked at Lydia.

Lydia frowned too but took the container from him anyway, reaching in and filling her hands with the bullet casings. She shifted them in her hand, keeping her ears open as she could. Then she opened her hand, letting the casings clatter to the metal table under them, gun shots and Derek's screams echoing in her ears. Her face fell, looking down.

"Lydia?" Jessie prompted her. "Is Derek dead?"

"No," she whispered. "But I'm not sure he's alive either."

Stiles was confused more quickly than usual with her banshee banter, "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "There's something not right. I just... I don't know."

"So, if the Calaveras have him, how do we find them?" Stiles asked Scott.

"Mexico," Scott answered, peering at the skull on the bullet in his hand.

Scott groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, seeing Jessie's face hovering over his. "He's awake guys!"

Kira, Malia and Stiles all congregated around him, Stiles asking his best friend, "Scott, you okay?"

"Yeah," he muttered as Jessie helped him sit up. "They don't have him. They don't have Derek."

"We know," Kira said. "But right now, they've got Lydia."

"Lydia?" Scott gaped. "What do they want with Lydia?"

"Hunters only really want two things," Jessie listed off. "To kill supernatural creatures and to get information to help them."

* * *

Lydia sat at a quaint table with Araya as the older woman poured tea for them, "I have to admit—I don't have much experience with Banshees."

Lydia fidgeted in her seat under the sun, "That makes two of us, since I don't have much experience being one."

Araya smiled, "I have a feeling you underestimate your abilities, Lydia."

The teenage girl pressed her lips together into a line, "Trust me, you'd have better luck with tarot cards."

"Let's find out," the hunter mused as she peeled an orange with a sharp knife. "Tell me, which one of these men is about to die?" She pointed the knife at the two hunters guarding them.

Lydia stared at their backs, wide-eyed at the stakes.

* * *

Scott pulled and pulled at the large metal door of their white tiled imprisonment. He grunted under the effort.

"Scott, stop, I already tried," Jessie pulled him away.

"I say when that door opens again, we take out whoever's standing in the way and run for it," Malia suggested.

"What about Lydia?" Kira asked.

Malia gave her a blank look, "What about her?"

"We're not leaving without her," Scott insisted.

"Why not?" the were-cayote asked, confused.

"Because we don't leave friends behind, remember?" Jessie told her gently. "You're not a coyote anymore."

"Is that what you would do as a coyote?" Kira asked her, disheartened. "Leave her for dead?"

Malia answered with a deadpan tone, "If she was weak and injured, yeah. If hunting had been bad that season, I would eat her. Then I'd leave."

"Well, we're not dead yet," Jessie changed the subject. "Araya wants something from us."

"But if the Calaveras don't know where Derek is, that means they didn't take him from the loft," Kira summed up. "Right?"

"Maybe he left on his own," Stiles suggested.

"Maybe someone else got to him," Scott wondered.

Just then the door creaked as hunters walked in with their tasers ready.

* * *

"How does it work?" Araya asked curiously. "Do you need to touch them? Maybe I give you something they own. Or is it just a... a feeling?"

"I told you I don't know," Lydia insisted.

Araya laid her knife's blade against the glass plate under her orange and started tapping her fingernail to the metal, "Just how close to death do they have to be?"

Lydia felt a deep coldness enter her body as the tapping echoed in her ears.

Without looking, Araya abruptly threw the knife into the chest of one of the men.

Lydia shrieked, jumping out of her seat, "What did you do that for?"

"He stole from me," Araya replied, nonchalant.

Lydia stared at the sadistic woman in shock, whispering, "What do you want?"

"Right now?" she mused. "I want to know about Scott McCall. I want to know what kind of Alpha he really is."

* * *

Araya pulled Lydia into the office they confronted her in earlier. She gasped when she saw Jessie and Scott chained to metal chairs with wires weaved through the chains. "Oh, God."

"Just let them go," Scott pleaded. "Look... you've got me. Just let the others go."

Severo roughly pulled Lydia to a control unit, speaking thickly, "Your hand goes here," he pressed her hand to the dial on the right. "So, let me explain what's about to happen. The Banshee is going to turn the dial on the Alpha. If she doesn't, I turn the dial on the Grimm."

"No," Lydia shook her head. "No way."

"Are you sure?" Severo asked her condescendingly. "One of your friends has the power to heal. The other? She may be smart, but she can't heal like a wolf."

It was then they realized the Calaveras didn't know Jessie was a full vampire. They just thought she was a Grimm. Jessie kept her head up, glaring at Araya as Scott and Lydia exchanged a look, silently agreeing to let the hunters keep believing Jessie was human.

"You're sick," Jessie hissed at the hunter. "Do you think this is a game? You're playing with lives you have no business with."

"This is a test, mija," Araya told her. "Let's see if your boyfriend passes. We're going to ask some questions. You answer them, nobody gets hurt. You don't answer, we turn on the dial."

Scott looked imploringly at Lydia, "Do what they say. I can take it. Just don't... don't hurt Jessie."

Lydia whimpered and Jessie swallowed a thick lump in her throat. After everything, he still wanted to protect her. When she had given up on herself, he refused to give up on her.

"Okay..." Araya began, all business. "We don't know where Derek is. We want to find him as well. You know who took him."

Scott gaped at her, "What? How would I know that?"

Araya tutted, "That doesn't sound like an answer to me."

"We don't know where he is," Jessie broke in. "Like we would give him up to you if we did. We came here because we thought you had him."

"Lydia," Araya called. "Turn the dial."

Lydia shook her head vehemently.

"Should we turn the dial on the Grimm instead?" Araya threatened.

"No!" Scott shouted desperately. "Please no. Lydia—just do it. Okay? Turn the dial."

"Let's start at one," Araya ordered.

Lydia frowned, turning the dial to one.

Scott flinched under the sparking electrocution, groaning in pain.

"Tell me!" Araya raised her voice. "Who actually has Derek? Who had a reason, a vendetta particular to the Hales?"

Scott panted, "I said I don't know."

"Stop this!" Jessie shouted at her.

"Oh, you don't know because you haven't figured it out yet," Araya cackled, ignoring the girl. "So think! Who could've taken him?"

"Tres," Severo hissed to Lydia.

She shook her head defiantly, "This is insane."

"It's okay, Lydia," Scott told her earnestly. "Just do it." Jessie grunted as she tried to pull free form her chains. Scott noticed and shook his head at her, "Stop, Jessie, stop." She went limp in her chair, panting.

Lydia turned the dial to three.

Scott growled loudly under the excursion.

"Who had the power?" Araya yelled. "The power of a shapeshifter?"

Scott grunted, "I don't know."

"Someone who could have turned without you knowing. Turned, but not by a bite!"

Peter paused before he clawed Kate's throat out. Her body fell on its side as Allison gasped loudly in the night air, her eyes frozen open in death and her neck bleeding onto the wooden floor.

Jessie gasped with realization, "Scott! She means-"

"No, mija!" Araya cut her off. "This test is for him." She looked at Lydia, "Diez."

Lydia flinched, her hand stilling over the dial.

"Diez!"

Lydia whimpered as she went to turn the dial.

Jessie screamed out loud as she broke out of her chains, throwing herself at Araya and shoving her into the wall.

Scott panted behind her, "Kate."

"How did you...?" Araya stared at Jessie in shock.

"You know the Grimm line is stronger than other hunting families," Jessie hissed at her. "Thanks to a spell generations ago. Now..." she paused, "let's get our friends because it's time for is to go."


	2. La Iglesia

"So... you're really letting us go?" Scott asked as he and Jessie walked out with Araya.

"I sent four men out to where Kate was rumored to have been seen. None of them came back. Let's see if you can do better," she challenged him.

"Why not just tell us Kate was alive?" he asked her, still upset they had to go through the whole 'test'.

"You wouldn't have believed me," she answered. "Now, I know what kind of Alpha you are. And where your next step lies."

"What next step?"

She stepped closer to him, somewhat imposing, "When you take the bite of an innocent, when you make a wolf of your own, when you do that, then, I will cross our border and come knocking at your door."

Scott nodded and walked off. Jessie scoffed once they were out of ear shot, "I'd like to see her try something."

"So, what now?" Stiles asked, the others leaning against his jeep.

"She thinks she knows where we can find Derek," Scott told them.

"She gonna tell us where?" Malia asked impatiently.

"She got us a guide to take us there," Jessie said just as a figure on a motorcycle road in front of them. When she took her helmet off, Jessie gaped. It was the girl that saved Isaac all that time ago, and then later saved Derek and Peter from the Calaveras.

"Braeden."

"Who?" Malia asked.

"She's a mercenary," Lydia told the coyote.

"Right now, I'm the only one who's gonna take you to La Iglesia," Braeden told them.

"The church?" Lydia asked, befuddled.

"Yeah, but it's not a place you'll find God."

* * *

The teenagers were cramped in the jeep as they raced after Braedan on her motorcycle. Kira, Malia and Lydia sat semi-comfortably in the back while Stiles drove, and Jessie sat on half of Scott's lap in the passenger's seat. Malia leaned forward in between her and Stiles and asked, "Okay, I'll ask. Who's Kate Argent?"

"Uh, I'd like to know, too," Kira awkwardly added.

"Well, we were at her funeral," Stiles said. "So, I'd like to know how she got out of a casket that was buried six feet underground."

Scott leaned his head back against his headrest, his left arm wrapped around Jessie's side and fingers lightly, absentmindedly, stroking her thigh. "She was never in it."

Lydia sighed, looking at Malia and Kira, "She was Allison's aunt. And a total sociopath."

Kira frowned, "You don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to."

Malia scoffed, "Um, yes, he does."

Kira went to protest but Jessie spoke first, "You guys should know if we're going to be dealing with that psycho again. She was the one who set the fire that killed most of Derek's family."

"Some of them survived, like Cora, and Peter," Scott added.

"A very angry Peter," Lydia said, remembering the night he scared her at the video store.

"He's the one who bit and turned me," Scott told them.

"And the one who finally caught up to Kate and killed her," Lydia added.

"And we saw her buried," Stiles pointed out again.

"No, we saw a casket, remember?" Scott looked at Stiles. "She wasn't in it. The Calaveras heard that Kate had been killed by an Alpha's claws. They wanted to make sure she was really dead."

"But her body was healing," Jessie took over. "She was getting stronger and healing more the closer to the full moon she got. She was coming back."

"Like you did?" Kira asked curiously.

"It's quite a different process," Jessie told her. "The Calaveras switched out the bodies and took Kate to their HQ in Mexico, expected her to follow their code – their law. Hunters are supposed to take their own life before they change if they're bitten by an Alpha."

"They make it their responsibility to enforce it," Scott said. "But she wouldn't do it."

"Good for her," Malia said. "I wouldn't do it either."

"Would you kill half a dozen people to get out?" Scott asked her. "Because that's what she did."

"So, Kate's a werewolf now?" Kira asked.

"I don't know," Scott sighed. "You know, there's a saying, sometimes the shape you take reflects the person you are."

"What kind of shape is sociopathic bitch?" Lydia quipped just before some hard hit them and the tire popped, and the jeep swerved. Malia slammed back into the seat and cast her arms out in front of Kira and Lydia. Scott wrapped both of his arms fully around Jessie and held them to the car door.

Stiles slammed on the breaks and pulled them to a stop, making sure everyone was okay before they clambered out of the car. Braeden pulled her bike to a stop and ripped off her helmet, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Stiles called. "It felt like we hit something."

Braeden looked at the Alpha, "Scott, we need to get there by night. It's too dangerous otherwise."

Stiles gave his friend a look, waving his hand, "Go."

"Not without you," Scott protested.

"No, Scott, go," Jessie walked over to him, taking his hand. "You need to find Derek."

"We'll figure something out. We always do," Stiles added. "Just go."

Scott sighed, "Okay," and looked to Jessie, squeezing her hand. "I'll be back soon."

"Be careful, we have no idea what you're going to find when you get there," Jessie warned him, leaning into his chest to hug him. He wrapped her arms around her shoulders and held her close, kissing the top of her head before he pulled away and got on the bike with Braeden to race away.

"He'll be okay," Kira tried to comfort Jessie with an awkward smile.

Malia had crouched down by their tire and noticed something, reaching under the car to pull it out. "Stiles? I don't think we hit something. I think something hit us." Everyone blanched when they saw the pale spike made out of bone that she pulled out of the car.

* * *

Braeden came to a halt at the edge of a cliff, "La Iglesia."

Scott's eyes widened partially as he looked at the ruins of a whole city, buildings crumbled and decrepit. But at the center stood a tall two towers church with a dome center. "What happened here?"

"An earthquake," she answered. "It leveled the town."

"Then why is the Church still standing?" he asked.

"The locals think it's because of what's underneath," she said.

He gave her a look, "Do I wanna know?"

"The Church was built over the ruins of an Aztec temple," she told him. "It belonged to a people called the nagual."

"Shapeshifters," he realized.

"Were-jaguars."

"So, Derek and Kate are somewhere in there?" he gestured to the Church.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Never gotten this far before."

* * *

Stiles was jittery to say the least as he worked on his jeep to try and figure out how to get it to run again under the setting sun. Jessie stood right next to him, ready to offer what little help she could. Lydia stood on the other side of the car, "Maybe we should just walk."

"Hey," Stiles chastised her, pointing at her with his tool, "I will never abandon this jeep. You understand me? Ever. Ever. Ever."

"Stiles, you need to calm down, you're shaking, and you seem angry," Jessie told him.

"I'm not angry," he huffed. "I'm frustrated."

"At more than your jeep, right?" Jessie asked him, knowingly.

He paused in his work, not looking away from his car, "It's been two weeks since we heard from them."

"Georgie is a capable girl, Stiles," Jessie pointed out. "And she has Deaton, and Dechtire, and Nuala out there to back her up. She had to go save her sister."

"I know that," he grunted. "It doesn't make me feel any better about her going radio silent like Derek did. But here we are – saving his furry ass."

"We had some place to start with Derek," Jessie pointed out patiently. "And Derek didn't leave of his own accord. Georgie did. And she'll be back. And she's not alone out there. There's a plethora of reasons she may have to keep contact to a minimum. Besides, she has that smoky transportation thing she can do to get out of hairy situations."

"I know all of that, I know all of the ways things can go as planned," Stiles said as he aggressively worked on his jeep. "But I also know all the ways things can go wrong. And I wish – I wish I had insisted on going with her."

"She didn't want to possibly put you in danger," Jessie excused her friend. "I know how it works in your head, when you'll do anything to protect the one you love from any possibility of danger."

"Like Scott?" Lydia suddenly spoke up again, with a slight smirk on her face.

Jessie gave the girl a look, "Of course I would protect Scott."

"Because..." Lydia trailed off, trying to lead Jessie in a certain direction. When Jessie's face remained blank, Lydia frowned impatiently, "Because you love him."

Jessie let out a guffaw, "Okay, this isn't the time, nor the place, nor the topic of discussion. We were just talking about Georgie."

"So?" Lydia asked. "I think we can change the topic of conversation. Stiles?"

"Seconded," the boy smirked. "We've all known that you and Scott were an inevitability for a while."

"We are so not talking about this," Jessie waved them off.

* * *

As the stepped into the still standing Church, Scott heard a distant roar echoing in the empty maze of stone, "There's something else in here."

"Something like what?" Braeden asked him, gun out and ready.

"Something not human," he answered.

* * *

"Fine, if you won't talk about you and Scott," Stiles said as the sun went down. "Hold the flashlight."

Jessie sighed and brandished her flashlight, holding it over the jeep so Stiles could work with light. "Fine. And stop worrying about Georgie. If she doesn't contact you in the next couple days, I will contact Connor's mother and see if she can get a hit on her, okay?"

"You think that would work?" he asked eagerly, looking at her.

"Stiles, keep working," Lydia ordered.

"She foresaw my death," Jessie pointed out as the boy did as told. "I'm sure she can try and see what Georgie's been up to."

Kira walked over to where Malia was studying the rocks and stones in front of them, for some sight of whatever attacked the jeep. "Anything?"

Malia narrowed her eyes, "It's too hard to see. We should've brought another flashlight."

Kira thought of some idea to help, pulling out her sword and walking over to the jeep's headlight. She held the sword in front of the light and tilted it just so the light reflected onto the landscape Malia was searching through. The kitsune jumped when she noticed some figure ducking behind a large stone, "Did you see that?"

Malia had, and let her fangs pop out of her gums and her eyes glow stale blue, letting out a roar and charging into the unknown, ignoring Kira's calls after her, "Malia, wait!" as the kitsune raced after her.

Kira couldn't see so well in the dark as she landed in a sand drench with her sword out and ready to use, but kept her ears trained for any sounds of danger around her. She waved it around, getting more scared the longer Malia was out of her sight and strange sounds were heard around her. But she was even more startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder, crying out and ready to strike with her sword.

But it was a crouching Malia in pain, "It's me! Kira, it's me!"

"What happened?" Kira's eyes widened. "What's out there?"

Malia panted slightly, "I don't know, but it's big and fast. And it cuts deep," she said, uncovering her hand from her wounded side.

Kira felt worry cut deep in her when she saw Malia was hurt and hurried to put away her sword and help the she-coyote back to the car.

* * *

As if to keep their minds off their dangerous adventure, Braeden asked Scott, "So, how come you didn't kiss her?"

"What?" Scott asked, confused at her sudden sociable attitude.

"How come you didn't kiss your girlfriend?" she asked again. "The Demi-Curore?"

"Jessie?" Scott said. "Well, she's not really... I mean, we've never actually..." he trailed off with the stark realization that he and Jessie were still not a couple. He had told her that he loved her, knew without a doubt that she loved him, and yet, nothing had moved forward. It had been a month since he had dug her out of her own mind and told her everything he felt for her. And nothing had happened. "She's not my girlfriend."

"So, if you die down here, are you gonna regret not kissing her?" Braeden asked with a knowing look.

Scott frowned, "Definitely."

"Should've kissed your girlfriend," she pursed her lips at him before walking again.

Scott followed after her until he froze, hearing distant whispers and feeling the inexplicable feeling of being watched, the hairs on the back of his neck rising up. After Braeden caught him stopping to look back and asked him what was going on, he said, "Just had a feeling like something was behind us."

They continued until Braeden froze again at another noise, one that sounded more menacing, "You hear that?"

Scott nodded, "Is this why you never get that far?"

* * *

Stiles had finally fixed the jeep and started racing towards the Church with Jessie next to him and the rest of the girls in the seats behind them. Kira was silently staring at Malia from the middle seat, "Please don't just run off like that on your own. You could have gotten hurt more than you did."

"I'm okay," Malia told her.

"Are you sure?" the kitsune asked, still concerned. "It looks deep."

Malia pulled her shirt down to cover the wound more, "I can feel it healing."

"You didn't see anything?" Lydia asked the were-coyote.

She shook her head, "Barely. It had a strong scent, though."

"Like what?" Stiles asked from the driver's seat.

"Like death," Malia muttered.

* * *

"Where is it?" Braeden asked, looking around with her gun poised. "Do you see it?"

"No, I don't know!" Scott looked around quickly. "I can't see anything!"

More footsteps and grumbles echoed around the area as they searched for whatever may attack them. "Where is this thing?" Braeden asked just as roaring reached them. "Scott, get behind me!"

But he didn't listen, letting his eyes glow brilliant red and an Alpha roar build deep in his chest before he let it out, shaking the dunes around him and the mercenary behind him.

* * *

Jessie flinched from the passenger's seat and let her eyes briefly glow cobalt blue, hearing Stiles ask her what was going on with her. "It's Scott. Step on it."

* * *

Scott let his roar die out and his eyes dull back to normal, "I think I scared it."

Braeden was looking at him with wide eyes, "I think you scared everything."

They heard some stone crashing behind them and turned to see a stone wall being revealed in the rubble with a large circular Aztec symbol on it. "What is that?"

"Tezcatlipoca," Braeden told him. "The nagual jaguar God. I think we found Derek."

Scott ran his hands over the wall, hearing some slight groaning behind it. "Stand back," he warned her as he formed a fist and pulled it back in the air to strike, punching through the wall with all his strength.

* * *

As soon as the jeep stalled to a stop, Jessie jumped out and rushed to check on Scott and the figure he and Braeden were supporting out of the Church.

"Is that him?" Malia asked. "Is that Derek?"

"Oh my god," Jessie whispered as he lifted his head to look at her. It was Derek, but he was years younger than he should have been. He looked like a teenager again.


	3. Heist and Unions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick announcement, I am working on a Grimm fanfiction that is a sort of crossover with this series. If you have seen the show, I'm sure you caught onto the use of the name Nick Burkhardt and the fact that Jessie was in Portland while she was 'away' and that some heavy things happened to her there. Including Alex's death. That will be touched on and explained during this story. The Grimm story will take off after this story takes place and go from there, with possible guest spots from characters from here. I am also outlining season five of teen wolf. But I would still love it if you guys left a review here and there and let me know what you think of the story so far. With that said, here's a long chapter three to tide you over.

It was pouring rain when Scott, Jessie, Lydia and Stiles arrived at the vet's clinic with Derek. While they had been driving, Jessie had a feeling that Deaton was back in town.

"What?" Stiles had asked. "What do you mean Deaton is back? Where is Georgie?"

"He's alone," Jessie had reluctantly told him.

As the rushed an unconscious and teenage Derek into the vet's office and onto a metal table, Deaton stared at the boy in shock, "Wow."

"Wow?" Stiles echoed. "Wow as in, 'I've seen this before and I know exactly what to do,' kind of wow? And while we're talking, where the Hell is Georgie?"

Deaton was patient with the boy, disregarding his tone, "She is still with Dechtire and Nuala. They didn't need my help anymore and I knew with Derek missing, you guys might. But do not worry, Stiles, she is safe with them. I only came back yesterday."

Jessie reached over to grasp Stiles' shoulder, "She'll be fine, Stiles."

"He's cold," Lydia cut in. "Really cold."

"Do you think this is permanent?" Scott asked, worried.

"I'm not sure a medical diagnosis is even adequate," Deaton answered, checking Derek's pupils with his tiny flashlight. "This is well beyond my experience."

"So, what do we do with him?" Stiles asked.

"We don't want Marissa to see him like this," Lydia decided out loud. "She's been worried sick, and this will just worry her even more. We need to have something to tell her."

"It might be best to leave him with me," Deaton told them. "He'll be safe here."

"You mean from Kate?" Stiles asked.

"If she's alive and she is what you say she is, she won't be able to walk past that gate," the vet gestured to the gate behind him.

"Why would she want to do this to him?" Lydia asked.

"Knowing Kate, it's probably for a reason that won't be any good for anyone but her," Deaton warned.

"And bad for everyone else," Stiles muttered.

"You guys should probably go home," Deaton told them all. "He doesn't look to be in any danger. So, maybe the rest of you should get some sleep? It is a school night... and you all need to start taking care of your own lives again."

"Someone should stay with you," Scott protested.

"I will," Jessie told them. "I don't need much sleep and my grades are up."

Scott gaped at her just a bit, not knowing how he felt about leaving her here, "Are you sure?"

She nodded patiently, "Yes, I'll be fine."

"Text me if anything happens," he told her, reaching over and taking her hand in his. "Promise."

"I promise," she told him, smirking a little at the worry in his brow. "I can handle myself, Scott."

"I know," he said slowly. "But it doesn't make it any easier to leave you alone with a confused and possibly unstable werewolf."

"I can handle werewolves," she told him playfully. "I'm a vampire and a Grimm."

"Let's go, Stiles," Lydia started pushing a protesting Stiles out the door, who still wanted to get more information about his girlfriend out of the vet.

Scott paused as Jessie let him out of the gate, turning back to him, "You should get some actual sleep instead of tossing and turning worrying about me being here. Promise?"

He looked reluctant, "As long as you're careful. I promise."

"And be careful when you get home," she warned him, "you were supposed to have dinner with your dad tonight."

Scott groaned, having completely forgotten about that deal with his father, "Right. I'll be quiet."

The two stood awkwardly in front of each other for a moment then, not knowing how to say goodbye while they were in this awkward phase. Scott broke the silence, "Listen, I know now isn't the time, but we should talk."

Jessie rose one of her eyebrows in response to his suddenly more serious words, "We should? About what?"

Scott gave her a look, "Come on, Jessie, you know what. And we should talk soon."

Jessie sighed through her nose, "You're right. Now isn't the time."

Scott ran a hand through her hair, resting it on her shoulder, "I'm serious."

"I know you are," she sighed again. "And I'll concede, but we need to fix Derek and figure out when Georgie is coming back so Stiles doesn't have a stroke. And we have a violent and more powerful Kate Argent roaming around with a mysterious plan."

"There will always be something," Scott told her. "But this is important too. Tomorrow?"

Under his pleading look, she caved, "Fine. Tomorrow. Now, get home and get to sleep."

"Okay," he chuckled, leaning in to kiss her cheek goodbye and leave for his house. When he got home, all the lights were off, and it was pushing three in the morning. But he still caught sight of his dad sleeping on the couch, a mine field of bowls out to catch dripping water from the ceiling and tools between the two of them. He stalked slowly through the room to try and make it to the stairs, but his foot still collided with the tool box, loud enough to wake his father.

"Scott?" he groggily said as he sat up on the couch.

"Hey, Dad," Scott replied sheepishly. "What's with the tools?"

Rafael rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, "Oh, I was just, getting started on a list of repairs you guys need done. What time is it?"

Scott quickly turned the clock sitting on the table next to him over and lied, "It's, um, midnight."

His father gave him a look, "We were supposed to have dinner. We had a deal. When your mom has a night shift, we have dinner."

Scott nodded and sighed, "Sorry, I totally forgot about it. When we got back from the camping trip, I had to go straight to the animal clinic to finish up work."

"Alright," Rafael nodded absentmindedly, "well, tomorrow night. Dinner."

"Great," he agreed, making his way to the stairs.

"Did you get anything to eat?" his dad asked, playing parent.

Scott exhaled loudly, hiding a morbid grin, "Yeah, Mexican."

* * *

By the next morning, Deaton had been the one to get sleep while Jessie diligently watched over the still unconscious and still teenage Derek Hale on his table. Jessie curled onto one of the tables set against a wall and watched over Derek, getting lost in her own thoughts.

Scott wanted to have some serious talk, and she knew what about. Their relationship had been steadily growing as well as a roller coaster of sorts since the day they met. She and Scott had gone from coworkers to best friends and now they were caught in this in between stage, she just didn't know what was on the other side.

She was the cliché of a girl terrified of her feelings and what they could mean for her friendship with Scott. He was her best friend and always there for her. She loved him so much, even before she discovered her feelings for him. She was protective of him, as well as all their friends, and depended on him so much. He was the one who brought the real her back out of her mind's own maze that she trapped herself in. He was the one who always made her feel better when she felt hopeless and desolate. She didn't want to put that in jeopardy by jumping into a new level of relationship.

But part of knew the damage was already in place, ever since Scott admitted that he loved her. And he knew that she loved him back. The truth was out there, the chips had fallen, and they just had to deal with the aftermath. A part of her was so desperate to explore the options with Scott, to delve in deeper into their feelings and just throw caution to the wind. Be with him. But part of her was still just a terrified cliché and there wasn't much she could do to change that.

She asked, "How's he doing?" when Deaton woke up and started looking him over.

"His heart rate is alarmingly high," Deaton mentioned.

Jessie reached over and clasped her hand in his, "He's warmer now though. Is that good?"

Deaton didn't seem to be listening to her so much, "Jessie, I'm going to try something. I want you to keep holding his hand if that's okay."

She nodded as he produced a scalpel and started dragging it down Derek's forearm, the cut immediately healing before the vet even finished cutting. Jessie's eyes widened, "He healed as fast as I do now. That's not possible."

"Let's try something else," he suggested. "Grab me a five-milliliter syringe. Top drawer."

Jessie nodded and went to retrieve it, knowing exactly where everything was from her times working there. But growling behind her made her spin around to see that Derek was awake and half transformed, eyes glowing blue and claws out as he growled. "Derek?"

"Derek are you alright?" Deaton asked as she stood protectively in front of him.

He was still growling, glaring at them as if they were his enemies. Jessie assumed he was scared and losing control because he didn't recognize them. "Derek, it's me, it's Jessie. You know me."

"I don't think he does," Deaton warned from behind her.

Suddenly, Derek lashed out, slashing at Jessie's arms. The momentum pushed her back into Deaton's arms, allowing Derek to get away, even though her wounds immediately healed over. "Derek!"

* * *

Scott felt as if they were spinning into another deep black hole of supernatural problems that would take insurmountable obstacles to get through to the other side. It was like what Deaton had told him about regression to the mean. Things were either all good, all bad, or somehow balanced. The past month, they had been crawling out of times that could only be called all bad. Things haven't been good, but they hadn't been bad recently either. He had Jessie back, to some extent. But their relationship was still undefined and stuck in between best friends and something more that he wanted to get to. He had gotten his first best friend, Stiles, back from the Nogitsune spirit. That was definitely something to go into the good column. But they had lost Allison in the process, and they were all still reeling from the grief.

"I've tried calling her at least a dozen times a day," Stiles was saying, "no answer."

"I'm sure she's fine," Scott tried to tell him.

"Derek was missing for a few weeks and we traveled to Mexico for him!" Stiles pointed out, getting more and more frustrated in his worry for his girlfriend. "But Georgie's radio silent for two weeks and it's just 'I'm sure she's fine.'"

"Derek was obviously taken," Scott told him. "And we had evidence. But Georgie left to rescue her sister, with backup. I'm sure Deaton wouldn't have left them if they were in danger. And he saw them all two days ago."

"I just can't help but feel like she needs me, man," Stiles grumbled as they walked up some stairs towards their history class. "Like this sharp pain in my gut that won't go away. I can't shake it."

"Look, I know how this feels," Scott told him, stopping him with a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to worry about her safety until she's in front of you, unharmed."

"Speaking from experience?" Stiles questioned him. "Is this how it felt for you when Jessie was gone?"

"I was so bad with her gone that I was hallucinating about her, and didn't want to stop," Scott said as they made their way to class, settling into their desks. "But she came back, safe. And so will Georgie."

"Jessie came back as a robot," Stiles pointed out. "Not a great track record."

"She's wasn't a robot, she had just locked away her emotions," Scott made excuses. "And she's not like that anymore. She's all back. And Georgie will come back too. I swear if we don't hear anything by the weekend, we'll get Deaton to take us to where he last saw her."

Stiles pointed at him as if he was saying 'I'm going to hold you to that' just as Mr. Yukimura started class. "I'm holding you to that."

"It might surprise you to know that some of history's greatest leaders have had to endure some pretty great failures," Mr. Yukimura spoke. "One you'll recognize from last night's reading, failed in business, had a nervous breakdown, was defeated for both houses of Congress, and lost as Vice President, before he was finally elected as one of the greatest presidents that this country has ever seen. Who was he?" A scattering of hands went up in the air to answer but the teacher had zeroed in on a ragged looking Malia scraping her yellow highlighter across her textbook with the pink one stuck in her mouth. "Malia?"

Her deer in the headlight's expression was cut short by Scott's cell phone ringing. Mr. Yukimura gave the boy a look, "Scott, phones off." He returned his attention to the were-coyote, "Malia? One of our greatest presidents. Gettysburg address?"

Kira tried to raise her hand up as high as she could to save Malia, feeling an innate need to help the girl, feeling bad to see her looking so lost as she searched through the pages of her history text book for the answer.

This time, Stiles' phone went off.

Mr. Yukimura sighed, "Phones off. Everyone. Malia?"

Malia started flipping through her textbook haphazardly, searching for the answer. But she couldn't find it quick enough.

"Does anyone else know?"

Nearly everyone's hand went up, causing Malia to slide down in her seat and let the highlighter in her mouth drop onto her desk with one bounce.

Another cell phone chime went off and that was the last straw for the frustrated teacher, "I said phones off!"

Kira let her hand fall, "Dad, that was yours."

Looking embarrassed, Ken stammered, "Oh. Umm..." as he dug his phone out of his coat pocket at his desk chair and opened the message. With a confused expression, he read aloud, "Scott, call Jessie."

Worry erupted onto Scott's face at those words.

* * *

Scott regarded his boss with disbelief and protective anger when he heard what the older man told him, "He attacked Jesse!?"

"She's fine," Deaton assured him and Stiles. "She went after him and will hopefully get to him safely. But I don't think he's just younger in body. I think he's younger in his mind too. He didn't seem to recognize either of us. And he was definitely frightened."

"So, if you're a teenage werewolf, and you're scared, where do you go?" Stiles asked.

"A wolf goes back to its den," Scott said. "But Derek lives in a loft."

"Not when he was a teenager," Deaton interceded.

Realization dawned on Stiles, "The Hale House? But it's not even there anymore."

"He wouldn't remember the fire," Deaton said. "It wouldn't have happened yet." He gave Scott a look, "You should call Jesse. See if she's found him yet. Surely, she figured out where he would go if we have."

* * *

Jesse had managed to track Derek down to where she knew he could go first. The wreckage of his childhood home. She watched with sad eyes as he knelt in the middle of where the building had once been, looking lost and confused. She approached him slowly, speaking softly, "Derek? Derek, it's me Jesse. We need to get out of here."

He looked up at her, startled looking, eyes wide and moist and face awash with confusion and fear, "What happened?"

She knelt next to him, carefully taking his hand, "There was a fire. Your family couldn't live here anymore. But things happened, and you came back. Do you remember?"

She could tell he felt relieved, if her words meant his family was alive. She felt bad for implying so, but she didn't want him to spiral and run off again. She had to get him to safety. He shook his head at her question.

"Do you remember me?" she asked. Again, he shook his head. "Do you remember a Tanya Torvus? She used to babysit you and your sisters."

Some recognition dawned on him as he nodded, "Yeah, I remember her. And her boyfriend. They... they died... I remember that."

Jesse nodded, "And do you remember that they had a baby daughter?"

He nodded again, staring right into her, "That was you. Wasn't it?"

She smiled softly, "Yes, that was me. After they died, I was adopted. We found each other again last year. You can trust me."

He grew confused as she spoke, "But how are you... older?"

"It's been a long time," she explained. "And you seem to be suffering some amnesia. Please, please, come with me so I can keep you safe until we figure out how to get your memory back. I promise that you can trust me."

Just then a voice interrupted them, even though Jesse had heard the two deputies approaching. "Excuse me, young man?"

She vaguely recognized the one who spoke as the Sheriff's new deputy Parrish. He had been called to the school when Greenburg thought he found a bomb on a bus. She heard the other deputy mutter to him, "You're calling him young man?" She remembered that some of the others teased Parrish for how young he looked.

Parrish gave his partner a look, "Shut up, Haigh," before walked up to them. "Sorry, but you guys can't be here."

Jesse stood her and Derek up quickly, taking his arm in hers and standing slightly in front of him. She didn't want them to get too good a look at him. "Sorry, it's just we knew the family that lived here. We were just checking it out. Paying our respects."

"You ever hear of no trespassing?" Haigh glared at them.

She glared back but Derek answered, "This is my house."

Haigh scoffed, "Nobody's been here for years, kid. Now get the hell out of here."

The deputy had reached forward and roughly grabbed her arm. It would have hurt her if she were human. But now it just pissed her off. She reigned in her strength as much as she could when she pulled away. But Derek was having a tougher time reigning himself in. She could hear his breathing picking up, and knew he was getting closer to transforming.

Parrish gave his partner a warning look, "Haigh, maybe a slightly gentler touch?" He took in the sight of Derek's harsh breathing and Jessie's protective stance in front of him. "Are you both all right? We can help if something's wrong."

Jesse softened at his helpful tone and shook her head. "We're fine. I'm just going to get him home."

When she went to take a step forward, Haigh got in her step, "Whoa, whoa-"

"Make up your mind, deputy," Jessie snarled at him. "Or else I'm sure the Sheriff will be very interested to hear what you think appropriate force is with a couple of teenagers over something as benign as trespassing."

He glared at her, "Who do you think you are, little girl?"

"I think I'm best friends with the Sheriff's son," she said, enjoying how the look wiped from his face. "Even stayed with him for a while, while my dad was in the hospital. Now, we're leaving."

She didn't wait for anyone else to speak or move before she gently led Derek away from the site of his old family home. Once they got clear of the area, she kept her arm looped through Derek's and pulled out her cell phone when it rang. It was Scott. "Hey, Scott. I'm with Derek."

"Thank god," she heard him say. "Deaton said he attacked you."

Derek looked concerned when he heard that, Scott's voice over the wire ringing clearly in his ears. "Did I hurt you?"

Jessie shook her head at him, answering Scott, "You know I heal. I didn't even register it. He had just woken up and was confused and disoriented. I'm fine."

"I guess," he answered. "How is he?"

Jessie looked to Derek with what she hoped was a comforting smile, "He's fine. I'm watching out for him."

"We still need to figure out how to get him back to being himself."

"Unfortunately, you know what that means," she told him.

"Yeah, going to the guy we probably should have gone to before," he realized.

She could hear Stiles say from beside him, "Uh, yeah, I hate that guy."

She chuckled, "Just get what we need out of him. I'll take Derek to your place and sit tight. You still have my bestiary in your room anyway. Maybe I can find something in there. It covers a lot of curses as well."

"Okay, good, do that. Stiles will meet you," Scott said. "And Jessie... we still need to talk about-"

"I know we do," she sighed. "And I know we said today. But things come up. Soon."

She could tell that he didn't necessarily like that plan, but accepted it, "Soon. I… I'll see you soon."

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. She almost didn't notice Derek peering at her until he said, "Who was that?"

"That was Scott," she answered. "He's the one who pulled you out of the temple in Mexico, and we brought you back here. He's a friend, but you don't remember him right now."

He peered at her, "You're together?"

"Huh?" she asked intelligently, startled by his guess. "Oh, um, no. He's my best friend."

She felt like he was staring a hold into the side of her head as he spoke, "Then why does your heart do that fluttering thing when you say his name? You have feelings for him, right?"

She gave him a look out of the side of her eyes, "We are not having this conversation. Older you and I don't even have these kinds of conversations. It's too weird."

Derek laughed, momentarily forgetting the levity of his situation, "Why? Aren't we close?"

"We're practically family," she answered easily. "But you're still Derek Hale. You don't do emotional, girly conversations about boys and feelings."

"I sound like a douche," he joked as they continued on their way to Scott's house.

* * *

Scott stopped short when he arrived at the loft building to see Malia waiting for him. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were coming to talk to Peter. And since Lydia tells me he's basically Satan in a V-neck, I figured you shouldn't be alone," she answered without a care in the world.

Scott hesitated. Malia still had no idea that Peter was her father. They hadn't gotten around to telling her the truth. "I can handle Peter."

"You can handle him better with me," she replied, not backing down. He had no choice.

* * *

Stiles had found Derek and Jessie in Scott's neighborhood and drove them the rest of the way to his house in the jeep, instructing Derek as they walked in, "We're going to wait here for Scott. We're going to sit quietly. We're not going to call or talk to anyone."

"Do I talk to you?" Derek asked, smartly.

"No."

"Fine. Good. Who's going to talk to him?" Derek asked, pointing to Rafael who was entering the kitchen with a bag of takeout.

Stiles jumped in the air, startled at the FBI Agent's appearance, "Ah! Are you getting taller?"

McCall looked at the three of them, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're waiting for Scott," Derek answered before either Stiles or Jessie could.

"Yeah, so am I. We're supposed to have dinner. I brought extra. You guys hungry?" the agent offered, holding up the paper bag of food.

"Yeah," Derek answered, while Stiles tried to talk themselves out of having dinner with the agent.

"Dinner sounds great," Jessie quickly jumped in to avoid confusing the cop. She guided Derek and Stiles to the table, helping McCall set everything out.

"It's, uh, good to see you," Rafael greeted Jessie awkwardly. He was more than sure that there was something going on with the young girl and his son. And he was desperate to mend things between him and Scott, and knew Jessie was a big part of that. So, he wanted to get along with her. He wanted her approval. Knowing it would go a long way with Scott.

She smiled back at him politely, "You too. Scott's just running late. Things are piling up right now with... school."

"I remember the Hell that is High School," Rafael responded, taking his seat. He sat across from Derek and asked, "So, what's your name?"

Before Derek could respond, Stiles blurted out, "Miguel! My cousin Miguel. From Mexico."

Jessie giggled, remembering that was the same cover story Stiles came up with for Derek's presence in his bedroom while Danny was there, and Derek was a fugitive. That memory felt so long ago now. "Who wants an egg roll?"

* * *

Scott looked around nervously as they entered Derek's loft. Malia looked at him, almost accusingly, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he tried to deny.

She didn't believe him. "Your heart's pounding like crazy. Are you nervous?"

Peter's voice startled them from the couch, the used-to-be Alpha leisurely reading a book, "He's just bad at introductions."

Scott looked between the unknowingly father and daughter and spoke slowly, "Peter... this is Malia."

Peter's attention was instantly on her. He tossed his book aside and stood, gazing at her, trying to find something recognizable. "Beautiful eyes. Did you get them from your father?"

"Mother," she answered shortly, confused at his interest.

"Interesting," he murmured. "Anyway, I'm sure they've told you a lot about me."

"The homicidal killing spree came up," she answered with quick wit.

He smirked, "Well, we're all works in progress."

"Well, when you progress to your next killing spree, why don't you try and make sure they all stay dead?" she suggested with attitude.

He frowned, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What do you know about people being turned by a scratch?" Scott asked him.

"Did you scratch someone, Scott?" Peter asked curiously, wandering over to the table. "Don't worry about it, the claws have to go pretty deep."

"But it's possible. Like if you clawed out someone's throat?" Scott hinted heavily.

Peter hadn't caught on yet, "Well, yeah, it's possible. It's also beyond rare. We're talking one in a..." he trailed off as realization finally dawned on him, his face morphing into a glare of rage as he growled, "million." The werewolf angrily turned to the table, slapping his palms on its surface, "Can't someone in this town stay dead?"

Malia leaned forward, "I think they were hoping you would."

Just then, Marissa appeared clamoring down the spiral staircase, hand cupping the slight bulge of her stomach. When she noticed Scott, she raced over, "Scott! Who's dead? Where is Derek!?"

"Derek's fine," Scott assured the crazed, pregnant, nursing student.

"Kate Argent was turned by this idiot," Malia stated bluntly, jerking her chin at Peter.

Marissa's eyes widened, "That bitch is alive!? Where is Derek?"

"Jessie and Stiles have him at my place," Scott explained. "In Mexico, Kate took him to this Aztec church and did something to him."

Marissa's face hardened, "What the hell did she do to him?"

"She de-aged him," Scott explained. "He's sixteen again." He turned to Peter, "Do you have any idea why she would want to do that?"

"What color were his eyes?" Peter asked.

"Blue."

Peter pursed his lips thoughtfully, "After Paige. Which could mean around the time he first met Kate."

"Derek and Kate knew each other?" Scott asked, having never heard this story before.

Marissa averted her eyes, "They were together. She used him to get to the rest of the family and orchestrate the fire."

* * *

Back at the McCall household, they were just cleaning up the food from the table when Jessie's phone rang, the name saying it was Beth. "Beth, what's up?"

"Jessie, there's a weird woman standing outside the house," her sister's wary voice answered. Beth had done some maturing, now a Freshman in High School. And after everything that had happened with Jessie dying and coming back, with Baako dying, it had changed her, made her take things more seriously. "She's creepy, skinny, and blonde, and old. Mom and dad aren't home and I'm a bit freaked out. She hasn't done anything but-"

Jessie felt her whole form freeze up, flashing back to a woman she'd met fitting that description. A woman that hated her and swore revenge. "Make sure all the doors and windows are locked. I'll be there soon."

"Okay," Beth answered before hanging up the phone.

"What was that about?" Stiles asked as she hung up the phone.

With Derek and Rafael still there, she had to come up with something else to say, "Beth's home alone and getting freaked out at every creak and groan of the old house. I'm going to go ahead and check on her." She turned to Rafael, "Tell Scott to call me when he gets home."

He nodded, still looking concerned, "Are you sure it's nothing more than that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jessie waved him off dismissively. She gave Stiles a look, "Call me."

He quickly nodded and gave her a hug. When she went for the door, Derek grabbed her arm, "I heard the other end of that call. Are you sure you don't need me to come with you?"

Seeing Rafael at the sink and not paying attention, Jessie let her eyes glow vibrantly blue as she gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm sure. Sit tight here. Scott will be back soon. So will I."

* * *

When she got to the house, there was no one outside. She quickly let herself into the house to see Beth sitting on the couch with her cell phone in one hand and the aluminum bat her father had bought when they moved back in the other. She dropped both when Jessie walked in and sprinted up to hug her sister tightly, "Thank god you're here. She didn't do anything. But it set me on edge the way she was just staring at the house. Is she a werewolf or something?"

"Or something," Jessie muttered darkly. "If it was who I think it was. I don't think you should be home alone anymore. If mom and dad aren't home, you can go to Scott's. The whole thing has a mountain ash security system. Even she couldn't get through then. I'll have Melissa show you how it works. Maybe I should even get Deaton to set it up here. But for now, you're not going anywhere alone."

Beth nodded and laid her head on Jessie's shoulder as they sat on the couch. "Can we talk about normal teenager things now? To distract me?"

"Like what?" Jessie asked.

Suddenly, Beth smirked, "Like how things are going with you and Scott?"

Jessie rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly, "Why is that everyone's favorite topic all of the sudden?"

"Because you guys are like soulmates or something," Beth laughed. "Don't get me wrong, I liked Isaac. You guys were sweet, and you guys really loved each other. But it doesn't come close to what's happening with Scott. You should have seen him when he first came over here after you... went away."

Right, Scott had made regular appearances at the Hansen household after Jessie died, came back, and went to Portland. He had become a permanent fixture in the family, visiting often to keep Jessie's memory alive, back when he was hallucinating about her. When Jessie had returned without emotions, she didn't want to go anywhere near the old house. She knew she would never want her family to see her that way. But once she had recovered her feelings and had some time to grieve the events of the Nogitsune, Scott had insisted she go back to her family. She still lived at the loft with Connor half the time, because he was her assigned guard. But she was more or less reunited with her parents and little sister. And Scott still made regular appearances at the house, often sleeping over when it got too late after dinner.

"Your first thoughts are always of each other's well-being before your own," Beth said. "I have never seen two people understand each other the way you both do. Not even mom and dad. That's what I want. If I ever find a boyfriend in this town."

"I'm sure the guys are lining up at your locker," Jessie teased, eager to change the subject off of her and Scott.

But Beth wasn't falling for it, "Nice try. Come on, are you two together yet?"

Jessie shook her head, "It's complicated."

"Why?" Beth whined. "What could have happened between you two to put you in this stall? He told you how he felt didn't he?"

Jessie thought back. Her emotions had flooded her after Allison died and she had fled. But Scott had chased her down. She had lost control so violently that she tried to attack him. He had dug his way into her mind with his Alpha claws, navigating every room and deeply hidden truth there until he had found the real her in the deep recesses of her subconscious. They had argued back and forth. Him trying to convince her to come back, all the way. Her trying to explain to him that it was too dangerous.

"I need the real Jessie back," he had insisted.

She didn't understand why he was so insistent and so optimistic. "Why, Scott? Why do you need me back so badly?"

"Because I love you," he whispered to her. And he had looked relieved when he said it. Smiling softly. "I love you and I need you back. You have all of us here for you to be your anchors. Take your pick."

"I don't know what to say to that."

He just kept smiling. "I know you feel the same."

She remembered feeling warm under his gaze. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Because you told me," he smirked. "Now, let's get out of here, okay?"

He was so sweet and so confident, she had to believe him. "Thank you, Scott."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you," he pressed his forehead to hers, "I'm always going to love you." The area around them had started to quake, a bright light enveloping them. Just as it consumed them, Scott leaned down to press his lips to hers.

Jessie almost blushed as she remembered how whole she had felt when he pressed his lips to hers. But they had had to race off to save Stiles, and it just didn't seem like they ever had time to be them. "I – yes, he did. I didn't. Not really."

"What does that mean?" Beth asked.

"That's a long and complicated story." Just thinking about all the levels to it hurt her brain.

Beth raised a brow at her, "Well, don't you love him?"

This time, Jessie did blush, "That's not the point. You know the things that go on in this town. Compared to all of that, romance isn't high up on my list of priorities."

Beth rolled her eyes, "There's no point in fighting all the crap that blows through Beacon Hills if you're not going to take advantage and live your life. You can't tell me that you wouldn't die for Scott. Because you already did. Now, I think it's time to live for him."

Jessie side eyed her sister, "You're getting smarter. Stop it."

Beth laughed as Jessie's phone rang. This time it was Scott. "Oh god." She quickly answered and put the phone to her ear, "What went wrong?"

"Kate got to Derek and lured him to the High School," Scott rapidly explained. "She wants him to get her into the Hale family vault to get the Triskellion. We're on our way there now, but we have no idea what Kate is capable of now that she's changed."

"I'm on my way," she replied before hanging up. "Scott needs me at the school."

"I don't want to be here alone," Beth squeaked.

Jessie grabbed her dad's keys to his SUV and sighed, "Fine, you come. But you stay in the car. Any sign of danger near you and you drive away."

"Me drive?" Beth asked as if Jessie was telling her to shoot a gun.

"We don't have time to teach you, let's go," she said, corralling them into the car and racing towards the school.

Jessie broke a thousand driving laws getting there, but she got there and parked almost on top of the sign before racing out, ignoring Beth's calls after her. She heard growling, and Scott's grunt in pain. It was almost as if she was in pain. She raced up one of the outdoor second floor hallways, seeing two large monsters – like MMA fighters with animal skulls adorned on them like a uniform – advancing on crawling Malia and Scott.

She raced forward behind Scott and Malia, throwing her hands up in front of her. A blue energy shot out of her hands and collided into them, throwing them back down the hall at least twenty feet. She quickly helped Scott up to his feet, then Malia. And Scott quickly picked her up in his arms, "Leave it to you to save our asses."

The berserkers stood quickly, growling over whatever Jessie had to say in response. They began marching towards them again, but then they saw Derek racing up behind the monstrosities, flailing and swiping at them wildly with his claws.

"Stay here," Jessie muttered to Scott before racing forward herself. She quickly took on one of the beserkers. And while she felt every blow they made against her and every blow of theirs that she blocked, she was still strong enough to hold them off. Her and Derek moved together like the ballet, switching targets and supporting each other. She wasn't paying much attention to his face, but she could have sworn she saw it morph into the full transformation of their Derek before it changed back again. She used her powers to throw them away from her and Derek again, and then Derek suddenly let out an enormous howl that sent them running away. Or something else had at least.

"Derek?" Scott asked from behind them.

Jessie turned to Derek, pulling him to face her and Scott. He looked like him again, like his real age now. But his eyes, they were glowing amber.

* * *

Beth gasped when she saw Stiles and Lydia arrive, jumping out of the car and running to catch up with them, "Guys, wait up!"

"Beth?" Stiles questioned when he saw the younger girl. "What are you doing here? Where's Jessie?"

"I came here with Jessie," she explained. "She came to help Scott with Kate."

"This way," Lydia pulled them through campus until they found stairs leading underground by the school's front sign.

"What the Hell…?" Beth muttered, having never seen this secret basement of sorts underneath the High School.

They entered a large empty room they'd never known was there, and saw Peter staring into an empty safe, "It was never... Never about the Triskelion. They took it, they took it while I was blinded."

"Took what?" Beth asked.

"Bonds," he turned around to mutter to them. "Bearer bonds and they took them all."

"Bearer bonds?" Stiles questioned. He suddenly smirked, "Hold on. Are you saying you got robbed?"

Peter glared, "This was a heist. Somebody planned this."

"How much did they take?" Lydia asked slowly.

He was reluctant to answer, "Over 141..."

Stiles gaped, "Thousand?"

"Million," he growled.

* * *

Derek felt different. He felt wrong. But he still wanted nothing more than to see Marissa when he reverted back to his actual age. Luckily, Peter ran off, so he'd have privacy with his girlfriend. Derek took a breath to calm his nerves before he slid the door open to his loft. And a second later a small body was launched into his arms. While his reflexes were a little slow from how exhausted he was, he was still quick enough to catch her.

"Oh god I was so worried!" Marissa breathed into his neck before pulling away and checking him for injuries. "Scott said you were sixteen! And didn't remember anything-"

"I'm fine now," Derek assured her, but somehow knowing it wasn't all the way true. "I'm back. You? Are you all right? The baby?"

She smiled, guiding his hand to the slight bump of her stomach, "We're both fine. And now that you're your real age – happy belated birthday."

With a rare genuine smile, he gazed at her, struck with how lucky he was to have this chance at life with her. And he leaned down to kiss her, before she led him to bed.

* * *

After returning Derek to a worried sick Marissa, Jessie and Scott returned Beth to the house, she had driven Scott to his house. They lingered in the SUV for an awkward moment. Not knowing if she should go inside, or if he should go inside alone.

"Jessie," Scott sighed, shifting in the passenger's seat so he was facing her. "We do need to talk."

Her sigh matched his, "I know. But now we have Kate to deal with and-"

"We'll always have something to deal with," he cut in. "We can't keep letting this stuff get in the way of living our lives."

"Too bad," Jessie scoffed. "Because it always does."

"We have to put an effort ourselves," he insisted. "You can't tell me that you don't want to. You can't take back what I learned when I was in your head."

Her gaze whipped to his, "You can't use that against me. I was reeling from the sudden unleashing of all the emotions in the world."

"That doesn't mean it wasn't true," he told her. He paused when he saw the hardening of her face, "Can we go inside? Please?"

Seeing his pleading face, she relented silently and got out of the car. "Melissa and Gavin are still up."

"They won't bother us," he promised, quietly sneaking her up the stairs and into his bedroom. If it had been awkwardly quiet in the car outside, it was ten times more so in his room. He sat down in the cushioned chair by his bed while she took a seat on the bed. "Jessie. What is it? What's holding you – us – back?"

He was surprised to see shame washing over her features, as she looked down and whispered, "It was almost easier without emotions."

"Maybe, but it wasn't better," Scott told her, leaning forward. "It wasn't real."

"But easier," she insisted. "Because this-" she gestured between the two of them, "whatever it is, isn't as simple as I like you, you like me. We're not normal teenagers. We're a vampire-grimm and a werewolf."

He stared at her taking in her words, "I know this isn't about us being two different supernatural creatures. There's more to it."

"You guys have always seemed to have this image of me, like I'm the strongest one," she spoke slowly, with emotion. "Like I can't be taken down, like I don't get scared. But I do. I get scared of homicidal werewolves, kanimas... Jennifer..." she trailed off, and Scott thought he lost her for a moment, until she said, "... you."

Scott almost shot to his feet, but settled for leaning closer to her, "Me? I scare you?"

"Not like that," she said quickly. "You have control, you were never hurt anyone. Hell, you're the true Alpha."

"Then what?" he asked, finally settling onto the bed beside her.

"Scott, I felt something for you when I felt nothing," she revealed solemnly. "I lied before. I did always feel something for you. Even when I was void of emotion, you were still there. And it was like being around you when I got back was slowly breaking into the rest of my emotions. And I'm frightened of how strong my feelings for you could be if I felt them even then. And I can't imagine what would have happened if it had been you the Nogitsune killed. I'd be... I'd be destroyed, I'd be..."

When Scott saw the tears start to fall from her eyes and the cries break into her words, he pulled her close into his side and whispered to her, "You can't think like that now. I'm alive, we're both alive. Fearing what could happen, fearing losing, shouldn't be what keeps us apart."

Jessie averted her eyes, wiping under them as she stared at the bedspread.

Scott tried to duck his head to meet her eyes, but she avoided it. "There's more, isn't there? Something less to do with us, and more to do with you."

The beating of her heart told him he was right. And he could sense shame rolling off her. "Don't make me say it. It's too horrible."

He reached forward and picked up her chin, so she had to look at him, "Tell me. There's nothing in the world that you could say that would make me stop loving you."

But what she did say sure tested his resolve. "I wanted to die."

His mouth fell open and words escaped him as he stared at her in shock. "What?"

She stood up from the bed and paced a small part of his carpet by his desk. "I didn't want to come back, Scott. I am so tired of fighting. But I know as long as I'm alive, that I have to. And I will never get peace. But when I was on that table dying, I felt peaceful. Yes, I didn't really want to just die while you were still in danger. Yes, I was sad, and I didn't want to leave you. Any of you. But it was over. It was finally over. I didn't have to fight anymore, I didn't have to lose anyone else. I was going to be free. And I was okay with that. Then Alex and Connor came in and fed me that blood and I had a whole new fight ahead of me."

She wiped at the new tears falling down her face as she moved and started rambling. "And then I was back, and I was this and I was driven crazy by it. And then I was void and I was useless, and I was fighting to get Stiles back. And now we have Kate to deal with. And it's never over. I just wanted it to be over."

Scott stood up quickly to take her into his arms, halting her pacing and her rambling. She was breathing quicker, almost sobbing, "The moment we start living, something comes along to take it all away."

"Jessie, I love you," was all he could say at first, staring into her eyes. "Nothing and no one will change that. Not even telling me that. I get that you're tired, and it seems like when everything is finally good, something has to go wrong. Maybe that seems like we shouldn't let the good stuff in if it's only going to drop. But to me, it means we should take advantage of the good things while they're there. And you – are one of the best things."

He took one of her hands and held the palm over his heart, "So, please, Jessie, don't let fear get between us anymore. I think we've waited long enough to admit that we love each other."

She sniffed, still feeling the fear, but also feeling the closeness of him with her in there. It felt righter than it had ever felt with Isaac, or alone. He was her best friend. He was her savior. He was her protector. Just as she was his. But it went deeper than all of that. Like when Deaton said they'd have a bond stronger than anything else, than any enemy. He was right.

So, for the first time, she was then one who leaned in and pressed her lips to his first. And he immediately responded, fiercely returning the kiss as he reached up to cup her face in his hands and pull her closer. She wrapped her arms around her waist and fought to get as close to him as possible. It felt right. It felt like two lost puzzle pieces fitting together finally, after jut grazing each other for years. And in truth, she and Scott had always had this bond. And they had just grazed each other while they were with Allison and Isaac. Now, they were finally with the person they were meant to be with.

Their breathing grew labored and desperate as they tumbled onto the bed. With a gasp, Jessie pulled away and panted, "Thank you, Scott. For everything. For being you."

Tenderly, he smiled down at her, stroking her hair out of her face and cupping her cheek, "You don't have to thank me for loving you. I'm always going to love you."

With all that needed to be said being said, the new couple closed every distance there was left between them.


	4. Save Georgie

Georgie hadn't remembered the house she lived in from birth to the age of four, before her parents died and she and Sonia went to live with their grandfather. But now, sitting on the deep green couch by the bay window, she knew she was in that very same house. But that was impossible. She couldn't be in her parents' home. Because it had burned down with her parents inside of it. Sonia hadn't been home. Georgie had been the only one to survive.

Looking around, seeing it stand around her, unharmed, she smelled smoke.

* * *

By the next weekend, Stiles had had it up to his forehead in worry and aggravation over Georgie's absence. It was like an elongated punch in the gut the longer she wasn't in front of him. So, when Scott called to say that Dechtire and Nuala showed up at the clinic worse for wear, he raced over in his jeep. He arrived just as Jessie did in her own car, and they both rushed in to see Deaton patching up a scrape on Dechtire's arm and Scott handing an ice pack to Nuala for her bruised side.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Stiles' voice was louder and sterner than Scott or Jessie had ever heard it. "And where the hell is Georgie!?"

The hunter sisters exchanged looks before Dechtire answered, "We found the Witches Council. Georgie started making her case on her sister's behalf. They didn't take too well to being challenged by a teenager. Particularly one like her with a shamed family line."

"They also didn't like that she'd brought hunters with her," Nuala cut in, pressing an ice pack to her ribs.

"So, they said they were going to put her through some kind of test they have and decide her punishment for revealing herself to you." Dechtire hissed as Deaton started pushing a medical needle through the slash on her skin. "Obviously, we tried to fight that. But witches are difficult to fight off. We got tossed about a bit."

"And then suddenly, we were here," Nuala finished.

"I think that part was Georgie's doing," Deaton finally spoke, calm and intelligent as ever. "They appeared in smoke."

"You would be right," a deep voice sounded from behind them.

When they all turned to the small entrance to the back room, no one was there at first. But then there was a bright light in the shape of a man, and then there was a man. He was tall and broad shouldered, tan skin and shaved head, Hispanic, but serious. He was dressed in long dark robes that didn't look like they belonged in the human world. And while he didn't seem like he meant them harm, everyone still got on guard.

Scott stepped in front of Jessie and Stiles. "Who are you?"

"Killian," he answered. "I know the young witch was responsible for sending the hunters away, because I was there. The Witches Council operates in my realm. I am in charge of witnessing, as well as the other guards."

Jessie let her eyes go blue, viewing him with a different vision. Like an image superimposed on top of him, she could tell he was something else. His skin had a black and gold quality to it, shining and glittering almost in a menacingly way. Ashes and fire swirled around him like an aura, from his hooves to his horns peeking out of long glowing black hair. Heavy silver jewelry hung from his ears, nose, and neck. And he looked more powerful than even Deucalion had looked transformed.

"What are you?"

Killian grinned at her as her eyes went back to brown, "A faerie."

Stiles scoffed out a laugh, "Bah! What? Aren't you supposed to have wings or something?"

Killian gave him a withering glare, "My true form would make you shit your pants."

Stiles looked to Jessie, as if for confirmation, and gulped when she nodded. He turned back to the newcomer, "Why are you here?"

"To help save the young witch," Killian answered as if it were obvious. "The Witches Council have reached beyond their power. And now they commit crimes using the power of my people. To put her into a trance, a vision quest. Such quests are sacred to my people, meant for enlightenment, not punishment. I cannot let it go on. But I also cannot pull her out. That will be up to whomever is closest to her heart."

Everyone looked at Stiles at once. "And how are we supposed to trust you?"

"Fae can't lie," it was Jessie who answered.

Killian nodded deeply to her in confirmation, "That is right, half-blood." A term like that would usually sound degrading, but on Killian's tongue, it sounded like a royal title, dripping with respect.

"What can you do?" Stiles asked eagerly. "How can I get her back?"

"I've never attempted this with humans," the fae cautioned first, "but I have the ability to cast into minds, guide them on these quests. I could use this ability to guide you into her mind. So that you can guide her back."

"Like how Scott rescued you and me," Jessie thought out loud. "Only without claws to the neck, preferably."

Killian nodded, "The Council is using this magic to test her loyalty to their cause, to their laws. And if she fails, her fate may be worse than execution. They may strip her of her magic completely."

"Which to witches is like stripping them of their soul," Deaton said with horror on his otherwise composed face.

"They've put certain protections on her physical being," Killian explained. "Certain protections I cannot place on you myself. Whatever happens to you on the quest, may affect you in the real world. You must proceed with caution when guiding her out. Whatever wounds you get will heal faster. But if you die, you die."

"Great," Stiles stated sarcastically. "Whatever. I'm in. How do we do this?"

For the first time, Killian seemed unsure, "Human minds can be malleable, but confused and disorganized. It is more difficult to access the deep subconscious, to get into the right trance. I don't know how to begin with someone like you."

"Unfortunately, we might know a way to get into the right trance," Deaton spoke, looking at Scott and Stiles.

Stiles blanched, "Oh, god, please don't tell me I have to go back into that ice tub."

"I'll go too," Nuala volunteered readily. She looked to Killian, "Can you do it to both of us?"

"I could only possibly support three, including the young witch," he answered. "We must hurry. Vision quests are not all the way pleasant journeys. They're meant for self-discovery, and sometimes that means suffering."

Stiles adopted a new stern determination after hearing that. And he almost dragged one of the metal tubs into the room himself. Dechtire and Deaton ran out to get ice. Scott and Jessie ran hoses from the sink to start filling the tubs with cold water.

Stiles looked to Nuala, "Are you sure you want to do this? I can go alone."

Nuala defiantly shook her head, "She and I got close while we were out there. I need to help her."

Seeing her determination, Stiles nodded as Deaton and Dechtire walked back in with big bags of ice. They ripped the bags and quickly dumped the ice into the tubs to get them ready. Stiles could tell that Scott and Jessie were anxious and worried. But he was more worried for Georgie than himself. He needed to get her back.

* * *

Sonia was skin and bones and covered in patched of dirt, with a bird's nest for hair and fear in her light eyes. Her bruised knees dug into the soil under her dress as she stared at her sister, laying comatose on a bed made of vines, intertwined with flowers in various stages of blooming. Larger vines wrapped around Sonia's wrists and ankles as she knelt at the feet of three elderly witches. One pale as the moon, one dark as the mud, and one somewhere in between. All elderly faces pulled down with the wrinkles of age. Bodies covered with swaths of dark and light cloths.

The pale one in the center had severe features, pinched up in haughty authority. "Such a weak one."

The darker one was blank in the voice, and her voice void, "Untrained."

The pale one turned her gaze down to Sonia, "Whatever her fate, falls on your shoulders."

Sonia could barely contain her glare and hatred for the three women. But she swallowed it, keeping her eyes trained on her sister and praying for Georgie to pass whatever test they'd come up with and wake up safely.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Stiles?" Jessie asked, walking over to take hold of his arm. "What if this affects you like it did when we were dealing with Jennifer? What if it opens you up to something worse than the Nogitsune?"

Behind her, Scott seemed just a seriously scared as she was, "She's got a point, man."

Stiles looked between the two of them, knowing they had legitimate concerns, and were probably right to voice them. But he didn't care. "I don't care. Guys, this is Georgie. I have to go get her back."

Jessie and Scott both saw how determined he was, sharing a look between them before Jessie turned to Deaton, "Does it have to work the same way as before? With the tether to hold them under?"

Deaton nodded, "That is how the trance works. Then it is up to our new friend," he gestured to Killian, who was waiting patiently in the doorway, "to get them to the right place."

Killian slowly nodded, "Once their minds are in the right space, I can start."

"Then let's do this," Stiles said, already stripping off his jacket and flannel shirt. "Do I need an object? Like how I needed my dad's badge?"

"My powers will be sufficient enough to guide you to the right mind," Killian said from behind them all. "We mustn't lag much longer. They have already started their test, and Georgie could be lost."

"No time to waste then," Nuala adopted Stiles' determined attitude and quick stripped down to her tank top and shorts.

"Scott, you're with Stiles," Deaton told the young Alpha. "Dechtire, with your sister. Get ready."

Jessie briefly squeezed Stiles' hand before he started stepping into the tub with Scott poised behind him. They exchanged looks, saying all they wanted to say. Be careful. Be quick. Come back safe. Jessie was wishing those same thoughts as Stiles sat down.

Dechtire looked borderline angry, "You shouldn't do this. Stiles is enough."

"I'm doing this," Nuala left no room for argument. "And I need your help to do it."

Seeing that she couldn't dissuade her sister, she nodded and helped Nuala get into the tub and sit down. She looked at Deaton, "What now?"

He was hesitant to tell her, "You have to hold her down until she stops struggling."

The hunter's eyes widened in outrage, "What? I have to drown my sister!?"

Solemnly, the vet nodded, "Unfortunately."

"She'll come back," Jessie voiced. She gestured to Scott and Stiles with her chin, "They did."

"Differently," Dechtire pointed out.

"But still alive," Jessie countered.

* * *

The smoke invaded the room first, until she couldn't see or hear anything but the smoke. It got into her nose and eyes, and everything was black. Coughing violently, Georgie collapsed to the ground off the couch. Weakly, she called out, "Sonia! Sonia!"

She could hear the crackling of fire, but she couldn't see any flame through the haze of smoke. She had enough strength to get to her feet and stumbled along the wall. Maybe she could find the front door, but she wasn't even sure if she was walking in that direction. Suddenly, her hand gave way when the wall stopped, and she tumbled painfully into wooden stairs. So, she wasn't at the front of the house, but the back. But she had a feeling she was supposed to go up the stairs anyway.

Slowly she climbed them, step by step, gripping the railing for life as the smoke started to thin. A noise was building up in her ears, like pressure. When she finally got to the second floor of the stairs, all of it stopped. The pressure. The noise. The fire and the smoke. The second-floor hallway was clear, and she could see the bathroom door at the end of the unlit stretch, the light inside glowing underneath the door.

"Mom? Dad? Sonia?"

* * *

Dechtire and Scott both held Nuala and Stiles' shoulders in their hands, looking as if they were in pain for having to do so. Dechtire asked, "Are you sure? Are you ready?"

Nuala closed her eyes, "Yes. Do it."

Scott gave Stiles a look, silently asking the same. Stiles nodded, readying himself for saving Georgie. In unison, Scott and Dechtire slowly pushed them under the ice water and held them under until they stopped moving. It was startling to Dechtire to see her sister unmoving under the water. Like she was dead.

Jessie looked to Killian, "Do it. Hurry please."

He inclined his head to her and stepped behind the tubs, dipping a hand into each tub above their heads. Swirling gold emitted from his hands and seeped into their foreheads. His eyes were closed, and for a moment, everyone saw the horned-hooved form that Jessie had seen earlier. After a moment, it all stopped, and he pulled his hands from the water. "They should be with her now."

* * *

When Stiles opened his eyes, he saw the most suburban house he'd ever seen before. And almost felt like he was standing on the sun. He was alone, sitting on a green couch. "Georgie!? Nuala!?"

"Stiles!" he heard Nuala before he saw her run in from somewhere behind the wall. "I hear something upstairs. I think it's Georgie!"

Stiles didn't wait to hear anymore before they were sprinting up the stairs until they reached the second-floor hallway and saw a light at the end of the otherwise dark space. An open door into a lit what looked like a bathroom. And Georgie was just stepping inside.

"Georgie!" Stiles shouted desperately.

She whipped around to see him and Nuala there, and looked so relieved. She had just gasped out his name, "Stiles!" before the door shut with her still inside.

"No!" Stiles shouted, rushing down the hall and banging his fists on the door. "Georgie! Open the door!"

Nuala joined him, struggling with the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. "She's locked us out!"

"Or this damned test did!" Stiles yelled in frustration, banging on the door.

Inside, Georgie banged on the bathroom door, "Stiles!? Stiles! I can't get out!" She reached down to the doorknob and tried to twist it either way. But it didn't budge. The room was starting to feel hot as well. Sweat starting to drip down her neck.

* * *

Scott was pacing in front of the tubs and almost biting off the tip of his thumb, wracked with nerves. Killian was frozen like a statue at Stiles and Nuala's heads, head bowed, and eyes closed, with a slightly swirl of gold just underneath his skin. Jessie stepped forward and pulled on Scott's hand until he looked at her and stepped out of the room.

"Being worried will not help them from out here," she told him softly, taking a seat at her old desk in the front of the vet's office. "There's nothing we can do but wait."

"I know," Scott agreed quietly, staring between her and the hallway leading to the back room. "But I don't like it."

"Now you know how we felt when you were in there," she told him with the memory of a smile on her lips.

He gave her a look as if she'd just made it worse, "We were out for almost a full day."

"I don't think it's going to be that long this time," Jessie tried to assure him, reaching over and taking his hand, tugging him closer to her. "And if it is going to be a while, we might as well keep our minds busy with other things."

"Like what?" he asked as she stood up again, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Like how we are going to go about telling people about... us?" she hinted, averting her eyes.

Scott smiled at her coy demeanor, "I think they'll throw a party. Stiles and Georgie were the ones to tell me about my feelings for you."

Jessie gave him a look, "They told you?"

Scott smiled, embarrassed, "Yeah, back when I was still hallucinating about you. I believed it was just a manifestation of my guilt. But Stiles and Georgie suggested it was my feelings for you, and that I was in denial. And they were right."

"Seems our friends are in the habit of intervening on our behalf," Jessie smiled, blushing. "I've been getting the same talks from Stiles, and Lydia, and even Beth the other night."

Scott chuckled, "Really? Beth?"

"She's growing up," Jessie shrugged. "She's in High School now, with us. And after the other night at the school with the beserkers, I don't think she's content staying at home, even if she has to stay out of the main action."

Scott put his hands on her shoulders and kneaded slightly, trying to comfort her and lower her stress, "If Stiles has survived as long as he has – I think Beth will be fine."

Jessie smiled, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Hoping.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the Sheriff of Beacon Hills and Lydia Martin stormed into the vet's office. Lydia was more concerned than the Sheriff was exasperated. "My son gets drowned again for some kind of vision quest thing again and you tell me through text?"

Everyone turned to Jessie who slouched sheepishly, "What? I had to tell him what was going on."

"I thought we were going to wait until after. When Stiles and Georgie were okay," Scott told his new girlfriend.

She shrugged, "Well, you should've told me about that plan."

"Okay, someone better tell me what is going on," Lydia demanded, shouldering her purse and huffing. "Someone took Georgie?"

"No, she found Sonia," Jessie said, "being held by this witch council. Apparently, that's what they kind of wanted, since they tried to get to her in the first place."

"And they put her into a vision quest sort of test," Dechtire said. "After an ugly fight."

"To test her and decide how to punish her," Scott added. "Stiles and Nuala are doing sort of what we did to find you, my mom, and Argent," he told the Sheriff. "With Killian helping them get exactly where they need to be."

Lydia and Stilinski eyed the stranger standing completely still and unmoved. "Is this Killian?"

Jessie nodded, "He's a faerie. It's the magic of his people that the witches' council used to put Georgie into her test. But he's against what they did and helping them get her back safely. He's good."

Lydia sighed, "Is this supposed to take as long as last time?"

No one had an answer.

* * *

Stiles stopped his own banging abruptly when he remembered something. Or not really remembered it but remembered being told about it.

Nuala gave him a look, "What? What is it?"

"When I was still possessed by the Nogitsune," he started telling her, "Scott and Georgie used this Alpha trick to go into my mind and pull me out. But the Nogitsune tried to trick them while they were in there to stop them. For Scott, he was in a memory with Allison. For Georgie, she told me she was in this house. Her childhood house, in a burning bathroom. But then he was there, drowning her in the bath tub."

"Okay, what's so significant about this place that she's been dragged back twice?" Nuala asked quickly, wanting to understand so she could better help her friend. So she could quickly help her friend.

"Her parents died here when she was four," Stiles revealed, taking rapidly and dramatically all at the same time. "Everyone knew Sonia raised her but not why. Her house burned down while Sonia was at school, only Georgie survived. After saving me, she told me they died in a house fire. And her family's elemental ability is fire. But her line was shamed, or ruined, I don't know how it works. And her powers were diluted to smoke. She told me, she believes she started the fire that killed her parents. That that's why she doesn't have her full powers, and that's why the Nogitsune used this house and memories against her."

"How'd she get out of it then?" Nuala asked. "When the Nogitsune had her in there?"

"She realized it wasn't real, that it was a trick." Stiles resumed banging on the door. "I don't know if that's enough this time. Who knows what this witch council did differently."

* * *

The pale leader of the witches' council's face that had been severe and taunting, went while and drew down into a deep frown, "The test – it's been compromised!"

"It's been sullied!" the tan one crowed. "By outsiders – intruders!"

Sonia started from her crouched stance on the ground, tentative hope blooming in her chest. Could it be Stiles had come to save her sister somehow? She stumbled to the councils' feet and rasped, "If it is a young boy, I know who it is. Stiles Stilinski – her unum!"

The darker one immediately gave Sonia her full attention, something flashing along her blank face. "What did you say?"

"Her unum et anima una," Sonia gasped out, fingers digging into the dirt under her as she grasped at straws, at something to implore them to spare her sister. "A bond more sacred than anything else, even more powerful than you. You must stop this now!"

"This boy has defiled our sacred test!" the pale one scowled.

"This magic is not yours!" Sonia stood to her full height, anger coursing through her. What right did they have to take the actions they have? "It belongs to the fae and you have defiled it. You have disrespected a people that have been our allies for centuries!"

"Silence!"

* * *

Georgie was all of the sudden shorter and smaller, and she felt so as well. She felt young, like she must have been the last time she was inside this house.

"Georgie, it's bath time!" her mother's loving voice cooed from behind her.

She felt her heart stop and then start thudding like a drum in her chest as she slowly turned around to see the woman that looked exactly like an older Sonia. Dark hair, green eyes. Georgie had always looked like their father. And he was there too, standing next to his wife. Sleeves rolled up and smile on his face. "Your bath is ready."

Georgie could see the probably cold water almost overflowing from the claw foot tub. And she was confused as she looked up at them. Her parents had never given her a bath together. It had always been her mother, and then her father would read her a bed time story. That was how it had always been. So, why were they all together now?

"I don't want to," she said, and her voice sounded higher and younger, like a small child.

Her mother's lips seemed to tighten. But she forced a smile. "I know bath time isn't fun anymore, but you need to be a big girl now."

Georgie looked around, a foreboding feeling creeping up her skin. There were no towels. And she was still fully clothed. Something wasn't right.

"No time to delay," her father's gruff voice cut in. His large hands were on her then, scooping her up into his arms. She had thought he was going to hold her and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck like she usually did. But he wasn't holding her. He was putting her in the water. And then his hands were holding her shoulders under the water.

Her mother's hands reached in to clasp around her throat, squeezing and holding her in a vice like grip under the ice-like water. Since her father is behind her head, Georgie can only see her mother's face above the water's surface as she struggles against them and tries to break free.

* * *

Stiles and Nuala were trying everything in their power to bang down the door. When Nuala suddenly stopped, "Do you smell burning?"

Stiles looked behind them to see that the house was on fire, and the fire had reached the second floor, at the top of the stairs. "We have to get out of here!"

"We're useless!" Nuala cursed, kicking at the door. "We're supposed to guide her out, but we can't if we can't even talk to her!"

"Georgie!" Stiles called through the door as loud as he could. "Georgie, can you hear me? It's not real. None of this is real! It's like a trick! You just have to beat this test. I'm right here! Georgie, I'm right here!"

* * *

"We should pull her out now!" the pale witch snarled, raising her hand up.

The darker one stayed her hand, "No. Pulling her out against her will, will spoil her mind. We must wait until she is ready."

"She needs punishment," the pale one glared. "She has cheated bringing the boy into her mind. She has already failed."

"If he really is her unum," the tanned one spoke timidly, "perhaps it is out of our hands."

* * *

Georgie was gasping for air, water swishing around her ears and eyes and spilling over the tub. She could hear the garble, far away voices of her parents.

"There's nothing in you. No magic at all."

"We can't have you in the family."

"We can't have you ruin our line."

"Better to mourn you than to endure having you as our daughter."

Outside the tub, fire began to lick at the bathroom doorway.

* * *

Outside the bathroom, Stiles and Nuala lept away from the door as the fire spread there. "Jesus!" Nuala cursed. "How are we supposed to get inside now?"

The pair began coughing, covering their mouths with their shirts.

* * *

Georgie fights harder the more the fire invades the room. Her mother's hands were off her throat and she heard the woman say, "What is that? Is it you?"

"No," her father said.

But the momentary lack in their grip let Georgie break free and her head break into the air. She gasped sharply for breath and tried to scramble out of the tub. But her father saw, "No!" and violently smacked the back of his hand into her face. Limply, she fell back in, and her mother grasped her shoulders to hold her down.

* * *

The pale witch's glare deepened, with a tinge of shock, "She is responsible for your parent's death! For the fire!"

Sonia's head sharply turned to them, face white and slack. "What? No!"

"We are in there with her," the tanned one said. "She started the fire. Her powers must have manifested spontaneously."

"It is worse than we could have imagined," the pale one said. "She must be executed."

"NO!" Sonia howled, enraged at their words. Vines sprouted from the soil, thick and dark, and wrapped themselves around the three elderly witches. They were bound to the ground in seconds. The pale one tried to counter with her own abilities, weaker vines shooting out towards Sonia. But with a flick of her hand, those vines died and the ones around the pale woman's wrists tightened until her hands were buried in the dirt.

The darker one tried to summon enough water to envelop Sonia and weaken her. But with a chuckle, Sonia swept the water away and doused it onto them. The tanned one tried to strike her with nearly solid air. But it passed right through her. With another wave of her hand, a sharp gust of air smacked them in their faces, and it was like they were bitch slapped.

All three elderly witches regarded Sonia with fear and shock. "You-" the pale one gasped.

"Yes, I control all elements," Sonia answered them darkly.

"That's impossible," the tanned one shouted. "It is only a legend."

"Well, here I am," Sonia muttered, turning to her sister. She bent over her and pressed a hand to her forehead. She couldn't gain sight into what was going on in her mind, but she could feel her fear and anxiety, and confusion. "Oh, Georgie, it wasn't your fault..."

* * *

Stiles leapt back from the door as it all but erupted into flames. With gasps for air, he said, "We're doing this wrong. This is all in our minds – her mind."

"So?" Nuala yelled through her shirt.

"So, it's like the Nogitsune's mind tricks," he explained. "Showing us things to mentally cripple us, but none of it was real. None of this is real. We need to stop trying to open the door because it isn't really there."

"What?" Nuala hadn't quite caught onto his thought process.

Without another word – there was no time to waste – he took a few steps back from the door, and then took a running start right for it.

"Stiles!" Nuala shouted as he disappeared into the flames.

* * *

"It wasn't your fault," Sonia sobbed over her comatose sister. "You were a late bloomer with your powers. Our parents gave up hope that you would be like us. And I guess they felt it was better to have a dead daughter, than one without magic. They were monsters, who deserved what they got. But it wasn't you who started the fire."

Fourteen-year-old Sonia had suffered from monster cramps and had been sent home. Usually her school would call her parents and have them pick her up. But her mother was a well-known PTA mom, and her house was five minutes within walking distance. So, they signed her out with the promise that she'd contact the front office when she arrived safely.

When she let herself into the house, it was quiet. She expected little Georgie to hear her walking up the path and come racing for her legs, begging to play doctor. But she wasn't. Her mother wasn't walking up with her hands on her hips and demanding to know why she was home early.

Some slight splashing sounds could be heard, and just knowing to be concerned, Sonia raced up the stairs. She wandered down to the bathroom and pushed open the door, seeing her parents holding Georgie under water in the tub.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"What has to be done," her father answered.

"What are you doing here?" her mother asked.

"I don't know what they were thinking. How they were going to explain what happened," Sonia cried. "But I wasn't thinking. Back then, I only had fire. So that was how I lashed out."

"NO!" Sonia wailed, her hands shooting to pull Georgie out of the tub.

"It's for our family!" her father shouted, pulling her away by her hair. He pulled so hard, her head smacked into the sink. Limp and bleeding from her head, Sonia clutched the doorway to pull herself up. Flames erupted from her hands, and engulfed the whole room, beginning with the bodies of her parents. She ignored their screams as she pulled a gasping and crying Georgie out of the tub and fled from the room and the house.

"I just couldn't let them hurt you," Sonia whispered. "You got your powers within a month of the fire. If they had only waited. If only our world wasn't so cruel. But you need to understand that you didn't do anything wrong. I am the reason that we have smoke instead of fire. I shamed the line, by killing our parents. You have done nothing."

Her voice was starting to get slurred and her eyes were drooping. She'd been captive for so long. And she'd exerted so much energy using her powers and connecting with Georgie to speak to her. She felt her eyes closing as she laid down next to her sister to rest.

* * *

Georgie felt the tenuous connection with her sister fade away and then suddenly there were no longer hands on her. Her parents were gone. The fire was gone. And Stiles was reaching in to pull her out of the bath tub.

"Georgie!" he exclaimed, pulling her completely out of the tub and into his arms.

She shivered violently, still soaking wet. Her face was a mix of water and tears and her eyes still seemed lost. She still felt out of his reach.

"Georgie!?" he tried to startle her out of her trance.

"They tried to kill me..." she whispered, crying. "My parents tried to drown me because I showed no signs of powers after turning four. They didn't want me to taint the family line. They wanted me dead."

Stiles tried to catch her as her knees gave out and she slumped against the bath tub, but he could just barely keep her upright. "Georgie, I'm sorry."

Nuala opened the bathroom door with a bang and knelt by them, "What happened? Is it over?"

"I don't think so," Stiles answered, "not if we're still in here."

"Georgie," Nuala tried to soothe her friend, taking her hand. "Are you ready to get us out of here?"

She was crying into her knees, "I don't know how. We're trapped in my head and I can't get us out."

"Yes, you can," Nuala encouraged her. "You just have to let go of the past. I know it sounds hard – but it is possible."

Stiles reached to cup her face and pull her up so she looked him in the eyes, "Georgie, this wasn't your fault."

She sniffled, "I know now. All this time, I thought it was me who started the fire because they were attacking me. But I heard Sonia. I could hear her while I was still in the water. Telling me that it was her. She came home and found them hurting me, and started the fire trying to save me from them."

"It wasn't your fault," Stiles confirmed, nodding along with her. "Nothing was your fault. Your parents tried to hurt you, okay? No parent should ever try to hurt their child like that. And Sonia – she saved you. Just like you saved me. You're stronger than this room and what happened here. You're stronger than this test."

"How do you know that?" she asked in the smallest voice, looking him right in the eye.

He leaned closer to her, "Because I've seen it. I've seen how far you will go for the people you care about. I've seen how much you will risk saving us. You've been there for me, through nearly everything. So, now you need to let me be here for you, okay? I love you. And I'm not going to lose you."

There was a sudden fire in her eyes at his words. She knew she could get out of this. She knew she could do anything with him by her side. So, she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. He responded enthusiastically, cupping her face and holding her close. They had missed each other in all the time she'd been searching for her sister. But they still had more to do. When she pulled away, she held up her phone to him and said, "Help me up. We're getting out of here."

"That's my girl," he muttered as he stood up and helped her to her feet.

"Ready?" Nuala asked with a smile.

Georgie clenched Stiles' hand in hers and started racing out of the bathroom, "Let's go!" She led them down the stairs and to the front door, only pausing to open the door, but it was locked. "Dammit!"

"This isn't real, the door isn't real," Stiles told her quickly. "I ended up walking through the bathroom door to find you. Just walked through."

"Just walk through?" Georgie questioned skeptically.

"It's true, it worked for me too," Nuala said. She took a couple steps back from the door and readied herself. "Watch me." She took a running start right for the door, slipping right through as if it wasn't even there.

* * *

With a loud gasp and splash, Nuala lept out of the ice water like she'd been electrocuted. Dechtire had been waiting diligently right beside her and with a cry of her sister's name, she helped her out of the bucket and wrapped a towel around her shoulders. "Guys!"

Deaton came in from the back room with the cages and Jessie, Scott and Lydia raced in front the front. Killian hadn't moved a muscle. The Sheriff stood at attention from his position leaning against the table. "Is this how it usually is?"

"What happened?" Jessie asked immediately.

Scott caught sight of Stiles still laying in his tub, "And why hasn't Stiles come out yet?"

Nuala shivered as Dechtire tried to warm her and dry her. "Don't worry. I just went first. It's a bit different than whatever you've told me about your sacrifice thing."

Jessie took Scott's hand, "They'll both be along soon."

* * *

"Okay, see?" Stiles said to Georgie as they watched Nuala leave. "I guarantee she's either outside on a fake front lawn or back at the vet with everyone else."

Georgie swallowed and nodded, "Can we go together?"

Stiles squeezed her hand, "You bet."

Taking a deep breath, almost simultaneously, the pair ran right through the door.

* * *

With a loud yelp, Stiles stumbled out of his tub, splashing water all over the floor. The Sheriff ran over with a towel as Scott helped Stiles stand out of the tub. His teeth were clashing against each other as he shivered from the cold. He and Nuala exchanged relieved looks, but as Stiles looked around, he frowned. "Where is Georgie? We came out together."

Suddenly, Killian reanimated and spoke, "She is there."

"There as in still in the test?" Nuala asked, growing worried. Would they have to go back in?

He shook his head, "No. Simply where she met with the council."

Dechtire and Nuala sagged, "That's over two thousand miles away and who knows if Georgie is too exhausted to travel. We're human. We can't go get here just like that."

"I can go retrieve the little witch," Killian volunteered casually.

"Maybe you should do that," Stilinski said, still trying to dry off his son.

Killian nodded lowly, and with a flash of light he was gone.

* * *

There was fire first for Georgie. When she woke up, she thrashed violently and noticed that fire was burning all around her like a halo on the flowers and vines she'd been laid in. She only half-noticed that the fire touched her but didn't hurt her. When she sat up, she saw the same old witches freeing themselves from thick dark vines she hadn't noticed before.

As she looked around more, she definitely noticed that Sonia wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Where is my sister?" Even to her, her voice sounded deadlier than any other time she had spoken, even in anger.

The pale witch almost looked smug, like she'd thought she'd won. "She confessed to the willful murder of two of our kind with her magic. There's only one punishment for that."

Georgie glared at them with all the hate she had in her, "You mean to say that you executed my sister for saving me from my parents when they tried to drown me?"

"No," the tan, more timid one, said, "we did not execute her. Given the extenuating circumstances, I advocated for her exile, rather than expunging her abilities or executing her."

"Exile?" Georgie echoed. "What kind of exile?"

"Given her proclivity towards the element of Earth," the dark one said, "we transferred her into the form of a tree. A very special tree that she has sworn to protect anyway."

"The nemeton," Georgie whispered. Her sister was one with a magical stump lost in the woods. She hadn't realized, but fire had enveloped her hands that had curled into righteous fists. "What right do any of you think you have to cast this kind of judgment and treatment? It is your world and your rules that allowed for my parents to have such a disregard for non-magic people in magic families that they tried to drown their four-year-old daughter! Your prejudice and condescension. Your exclusion from the real world and insistence on absolute separation and secrecy. You were going to execute me or expunge me for telling my unum about my status as a Healing witch. I hadn't even met you before this. Neither I nor Sonia ever involved ourselves in your affairs and how dare you involve yourselves in our lives!" The fire grew around her like an aura. "Bring my sister back right now! You don't get to punish her! We will not recognize any authority you think you have!"

"Whether you recognize it or not, our authority is absolute," the pale one in the center said.

A booming voice echoed above their heads, "Authority bestowed upon you by my people," and a large light appeared in the shape of a large male figure. Once the light diminished, Georgie gasped when she saw a creature she'd never seen before. He had tan skin with black and gold shine to it like iridescent glowing, imposingly. Specks of ash, some pieces even still on fire, swirled around him like an aura, concentrating like a crown above the horns growing out of his long black hair clad head. The swirling ashes almost created a magical looking robe-like cape that framed the back of his hooves. His ears and nose were adorned with large silver hoops and silver chains hung down his neck. His eyes were dark, almost black, but still the most human looked feature to him. The rest of his body was adorned in dark robes. He exuded power and authority.

His voice also held the same weight, as he stared at the elderly witches with contempt. "And you have irrefutably abused it."

The tan witch seemed ashamed and averted her eyes but didn't speak up. The darker one seemed angry and haughty at the accusation. But the pale one still seemed smug, like she'd won still. Like she could never be refused. "Listen, boy-"

He harshly laughed, "Boy? I am over 1,500 years old. And you will show me the respect I am afforded by my standing in my world. Respect I have earned." He straightened up, and the ashy flames around his head almost pulsed with fire at his power and prowess. "Respect that allows me to pass judgment on you."

They almost seemed to find the idea of someone passing judgment on them laughable by the looks on their faces – all except the youngest and tan one, who seemed properly chastised. But he wasn't laughing. "I would not get comfortable in your positions of power, since that will not be the case from here on forward. Your power and authority were entrusted into you by my people to exercise in the human world. And you have grossly disrespected the sacred rights of my people and our magic in order to perpetuate your own dwindling authorities and pass your own judgments at your own discretion."

"She," the pale witch pointed a bony finger at Georgie, "violated our sacred laws by revealing her status as a witch to nonmagical members of the human world. It is our most important law, known to all. Even you and your people."

"We have similar laws," he admitted, "designed to protect our community, not oppress them. You have taken this too far and your crimes will not go unanswered for or unpunished."

This time, the paler witch did laugh, "You punish us?"

"Yes."

Without another world, the man lifted his hands, palms out to the elderly witches and light emanated from them, almost blinding. Georgie had to shield her eyes before the light finally dimmed and she peeked to see that the witches' council had disappeared.

"What did you do to them?"

"Their souls have been recycled," he answered.

She stared at the places the women had once stood, the fire encasing her fists slowly fading away as her hands relaxed. "What does that mean?"

"Our souls live through many lives, no matter species or lifespan on the mortal world," he explained. "I simply pushed the process for them to start their next lives and let karmic balance decide their fate in the next cycle."

"So..." Georgie trailed off, trying to wrap her head around this entirely new information, "who will be the new council?"

"This one hadn't fulfilled its original purpose for many years," he said. "I see no need to appoint a new one unless there becomes a need. In other business, you have quite a lot of people awaiting your safe return."

Just then, Georgie felt tiredness seeping into every pore and bone in her body. "I don't think I can travel that far."

Like his whole form melted away, he appeared as a normal human man with tan skin and warm brown eyes. He held out his hand, "I'll return you to your family."

"Family!" Georgie realized, alarmed. "Sonia – they put her into the Nemeton. It—it's this powerful tree in Beacon Hills, it has some sort of hold over supernatural beings. Sonia was tasked to protect it from others taking advantage of its power. Can you – can you get her out of it?"

Her spirits deflated when he shook his head, "Unfortunately, that is not within my range of powers. Once someone like you becomes one with one of the elements in such a nature, it's up to a deeper magic and spiritual realization to separate them again."

"So, what?" she flapped her hands at her sides. "I may never get my sister back?"

"I've met Sonia," a ghost of a smile crossed his lips. "I believe her spirit is strong. Strong enough to separate herself from the Nemeton soon enough on her own." He held out his hand again, "Let's get you home to wait for her return."

Tentatively, Georgie slipped her hand into his and felt herself getting enveloped with a big light and then she wasn't in the fae forest anymore. She was standing in the middle of the vet's exam room. She had no time to react to everyone standing there before a soaked Stiles was hugging her into his chest and kissing her. When he pulled away, he just hugged her again, "I was so worried. I thought you wouldn't be able to get back here your way after everything they put you through."

"What happened with those bitches anyway?" Dechtire asked with a smirk.

Georgie pulled away enough to look at them and still be held by Stiles. She looked over at the tan man she'd just met and awkwardly cleared her throat, "I'm sorry – I never got your name."

He bowed his head to her, "Killian."

Georgie faced the others, "Killian took care of them, and helped me get back."

"What does 'took care of them' mean?" Deaton asked curiously.

Killian answered, "I pushed them into their next reincarnation to let karma deal to them their punishments."

"Reincarnation?" Stilinski echoed. "Karma? All of that – and faeries – are real too?"

"Guess so," Georgie shrugged, still feeling like she could fall asleep on her feet then and there.

"Where is Sonia?" Nuala suddenly questioned.

Georgie's eyes filled with tears at the question, and she sniffled as she answered, "Um... the council had already punished her before I came out of the test."

"Punished her?" Dechtire growled.

"They exiled her," Georgie cried. "And in our world, that means they turn a witch into something else living. So, they put her inside of the nemeton. Full time protector."

Dechtire took a dangerous step towards Killian, "And you got rid of the old broads before they could release her from that damn stump!?"

"That magic cannot be undone by those who dealt it," Killian explained. "Sonia's release from the nemeton is up to her or its magic alone."

"So, we just sit pretty and wait?" Dechtire snarled.

"You wait for magical nature to run its own course," Killian said. "Now I must return to my world to report the events of today to my people. While I've enjoyed helping the little witch," he nodded his head to Georgie, "I hope we do not have similar cause to meet like this again." Without a consensus of goodbye, he disappeared in a bright orb of light for good.

All at once, Nuala, Lydia, and Jessie rushed to hug Georgie and tell her how worried they were about her. Similarly, Scott approached to express that he was glad she was back. "Stiles was annoying the hell out of us."

The tearful girl let out a laugh. "It's good to be back. But right now, I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep."

"Um, your place is still a mess," Nuala said. "And Sonia isn't around so you have no guardian."

"Home is with us," Alec Stilinski broke in, smiling warmly at the girl he'd practically taken in lately. "We should head out, get you both dry and settled."

The group slowly dispersed from the vet's office, happy to have the latest crisis behind them.

* * *

Georgie only knew it was dark out – and not what time it was – when she shifted awake in Stiles' bed, feeling a little more rested and smiled when she felt Stiles' arm wrapping tighter around her waist from behind her. She turned around to see his eyes blinking open at her movements, "Hey – you feeling better?"

She nodded, "A bit. I'm still worried about Sonia."

"Knowing your sister, she'll be out on her own in no time," Stiles assured her, brushing hair out of her eyes. "Try to have some faith in her."

"I do," she whispered, leaning into his hand. "But I do have something I should explain to you."

"What?" he asked her, a little more alert now.

"There's a reason you were able to use the healing spells in my book when I got hurt on the way to all your parents under the nemeton," she said. "A reason Sonia and I were surprised when you said you'd used them successfully. There's a reason that you can call my name from anywhere and I can hear and travel to where you are on instinct. I can't do that with anyone else."

"Then how come it works for me?" he asked her, quietly.

"There's this sacred bond that happens with witches. Called unum et anima una. Or just unum. Or just 'one,'" she explained to him, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "A lot of people think that this bond is where the idea of soulmates originated from."

"Soulmates?" Stiles muttered dubiously, scratching his head. "So, when you say 'one' you mean 'the one' then?"

She cringed and nodded, embarrassed and vulnerable. "Yes. And the bond allows both to share powers, even if one of them is human. And they can sense each other, just sometimes the human doesn't know that it's there. Human witch unum bonds are very rare. Which is why Sonia and I were surprised when you said you'd been able to use the healing spells I use."

He shifted closer to her, "So, you and I... are soulmates?"

"Does that freak you out?" she whispered.

He was quiet at first – which worried her – but then cupped her face with one hand and said, "I'm not going anywhere. Because I love you. This just confirms that."

"I love you too," she said softly before asking, "What time is it anyway?"

Stiles lifted his head up to peer at the clock behind her, just as the green letters turned from 11:59 PM to 12:00 AM. With a smile, he leaned his head towards her and whispered, "It's officially the new year," before pressing his lips to hers.

* * *

Scott and Jessie shuffled around his house as they got ready for bed. Jessie didn't feel like sneaking into her parents' home while they were mostly likely already asleep or going to the loft where Connor might be using New Years to hook up with a local. And she and Scott had been exploring their brand-new relationship. They wanted to spend as much time together as they could before the inevitable shoe drop. Feeling a bit cold in her camisole and underwear, Jessie crawled into Scott's bed under the sheets when she was done readying for bed. He trailed in after her having taken a quick shower. He ran his towel through his hair as he walked into his room, "You still seem tense."

"I'm just cold," she shrugged. "I run colder now, remember?"

Without a word, he pulled open his bottom drawer and pulled out his lacrosse team sweatshirt to toss it to her. As he climbed into bed next to her, he asked, "I don't think you're just cold. Georgie's back, Sonia will get out of the nemeton on her own. Is there something else?"

She sighed as she slipped on the sweatshirt and burrowed into the pillows next to him. "Something happened in Portland. And something bad there might follow me here. She might be after me."

"She?" Scott questioned. "Do you mean... Jennifer?"

She gave him a look, "This isn't PTSD. This is real life. Her name is Hilda. She's a Hexenbiest."

"A hexen-what?" Scott asked, already confused. "And what does she want with you?"

"There's a whole other sort of supernatural creatures, parahumans, called wesen in German," Jessie began the more complicated conversation. "Only they can hide their true forms full time. They have to put a lot of effort into transforming. But I think young ones or new ones can change due to anger bursts. Not unlike werewolves, I guess. But Grimms can see their forms underneath them without the wesen changing. Grimms like me, like my mom, and my cousin who lives in Portland. He recently came into his gifts, I guess. And when I turned, I came into them as well and he guided me through it all while I was up there."

"And this hexenbeist is one of the wesen?" Scott questioned. "Hilda?"

"They're like witches but evil and separate of Georgie and Sonia's whole community," Jessie explained. "They look pretty ugly, all gray and decayed, like rotting corpses. And they pack a nasty punch too with their powers. Like to mess with people, hurt people, play politics."

"And you met this Hilda witch in Portland?" Scott asked. "And you say she's after you, for what?"

"For beating her, I guess," Jessie shrugged. "I'm not sure why really. She sort of zeroed in on me when we first clashed in town. Nick seems to think it's because I'm a Grimm and a supernatural being. Because she didn't care much about him."

"Why do you think she's coming here?"

Jessie laid her head on his shoulder. "Call it one of my feelings. I pissed her off – she wants revenge. I don't think she's going to stop at just killing me. I think she could hurt you or anyone else I care about. I don't know how either. They have all sorts of dark magic to use to teach us a lesson. I just don't know when or how or even where."

"Hey," he murmured, cupping her face and tilting it up so she looked up at him, "I am not going to let anyone, or anything ever hurt you."

"You know it's not me I'm worried about," Jessie whispered back.

He smiled in what he hoped was comforting, and kissed her forehead where her small scar was, "I know. I won't let anything happen to anyone. You know I'll do anything to prevent that."

She tilted her face up to look at him more directly and said, "Thank you, Scott."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you," he smirked smally, "I'm always going to love you."

"I do love you," she said back, blinking as she noticed the clock turn from 11:59 PM to 12:00 AM and added, "Happy New Year," as she pressed her lips to his.


	5. The Bite

By Monday, Georgie was back in school after Dechtire and Nuala helped forge some paperwork to explain a fake family emergency and give her Sonia's permission to return to school with the excuse for her absence. But Georgie was still anxious returning to her normal life while her sister was inside of a tree. She and Stiles had spent New Year's Day yesterday walking all throughout the woods looking for the nemeton stump. Georgie had even suggested they bring Lydia since sometimes she was good at finding things. But Stiles told her that even if they found the nemeton, they had no way of getting Sonia out of it. That was up to Sonia herself.

"Her unum could get her out," Georgie said as they hiked. "No magic in the world can separate that bond."

Stiles puffed his chest at that a little, fully accepting the fact that he and Georgie were unbreakable together. It made him feel powerful, especially for being one of the only humans. "But do we know who that is? Does she even date?"

"For my entire life her life has been about raising me," Georgie replied, feeling guilty, "not dating. The only person of the opposite gender I've seen her interact with is Deaton, and they've always just been friends."

Pretty soon, Georgie gave up on looking for the nemeton and returned to the Stilinski household to get a good night's sleep before starting school on Monday.

* * *

Nuala felt weird having to hide her weapons again. They mostly traveled and operated in the shadows while searching for Sonia. But it felt suffocating to slip knives into holsters on her bare back under her t-shirt and jacket. And she was getting angsty for the next big job. It wasn't like her and Dechtire to stay in one place for so long. She realized that when they first drove into Beacon Hills, she liked the idea of setting down roots and making friends. But she also realized she was just as much of a busy body as her sister. It had been nice to get close to some of the people around. She and Georgie were good friends having spent a lot of time together. She had gotten close to Isaac. But Isaac was in France now and not planning on coming back.

It just felt odd to be here with one foot in and one foot out. They had nothing to do now and could be out helping people. Beacon Hills had its protectors. They could be needed elsewhere.

It felt strange to walk through the walls like a normal person. Because she didn't feel like a normal person. She didn't have a new locker yet, so Georgie offered hers until the office gave her a new assignment or until Dechtire suddenly pulled her out of school and said they had a job to do somewhere in the Midwest or something. But Beacon Hills always had some sort of crisis. All they had to do was wait.

"Hey," Georgie's voice brought Nuala out of her thoughts as they made their way to the locker. "Where'd you go?"

"Just thinking about the next thing to come and bite us in the ass," Nuala answered. "Hopefully it'll just be Kate again and not something new."

"Never thought I'd hear those words," Georgie joked.

Nuala just hummed and asked, "Where's your soulmate?"

Georgie blushed. She had told Nuala about revealing that fact to Stiles and the huntress took it upon herself to tease them both about their status of soulmates whenever she could slip it into conversation. "He and Scott have lacrosse tryouts later so they're getting in some practice. I think Jessie's watching later with Malia and Kira if you want to go too."

"Which means you want to go watch your boy toy get pummeled by freshman that are better than him?" Nuala joked with a smirk.

Georgie blushed, "Stiles is good!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Marissa was caressing her slight pregnant belly as Derek and Peter sat with Braeden to convince the bounty hunter to locate Kate for them. The dark-skinned girl crossed her boot-clad ankles on the coffee table with a smirk.

Peter gave her feet a distasteful look, "That table's Italian."

Braeden just smirked, "So are these boots. Are we going to talk interior designing fashion or are we going to talk numbers?"

Wordlessly, Peter wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it across the table for her to look at their offer. She barely glanced at it before she crossed out that number and wrote a newer, longer one, before sliding it back to him. The new number managed to make the former-Alpha and mass murderer blanch, "We're hiring you to find Kate, not assassinate the President."

Braeden didn't flinch, "I was hired by the Calaveras to find Kate. You're hiring me to find her first. Going against the Calaveras is what's going to cost you."

Derek took the paper and balled it up, "We'll pay. Just find Kate, that's all we want."

Peter and Marissa gave Derek a look of shock, but Braeden just smirked and nodded and made her way out of the loft.

"Are you insane?" Peter asked as she slammed the sliding metal front door.

"We don't have a choice. We spent a week looking for her and came up with nothing," Derek pointed out as he stood from the couch.

"If we don't find out who told Kate about the vault, we don't get those bonds back!" Peter yelled. "What do you think I'm gonna do then, huh? Get a job? My resume is slightly out of date. We got robbed, Derek. Robbed!"

As Peter got into his face and yelled the last word, Derek let out a growl as his face morphed, his eyes glowing bright yellow in warning. But when he realized what he'd just revealed to Peter and backed off.

But Peter already noticed and smirked, "Oh, that's a new look for you. What happened to your eyes?"

Marissa wanted to know that as well. But she didn't want to dwell on what it could mean for Derek as she took his hand and interlaced their fingers. Derek sighed and squeezed her hand, "I don't know. But I'm willing to pay to find out."

With that declaration, Peter stormed out, leaving the recently reunited couple to themselves. Derek loped an arm around her shoulders and brought her closer, laying a hand on her stomach. "How are you feeling?"

"Besides the endless anxiety that your psychotic returned-from-the-dead girlfriend being at large induces?" she asked sarcastically, laying her head on his chest. "We're healthy, and that's enough."

"No more morning sickness?" he asked, trying to listen for the baby's hummingbird heartbeat, and smiling when it filled his ears.

Marissa shook her head, "None anymore. Thank god for the second trimester. In a few weeks, we'll have a scan to see what the sex is. Any preferences, daddy?"

He let a fond smile erupt on his lips at the words. He really was an impending father. He was building a family. And he knew he'd die before letting anything happen to this one. That was why he wanted to find Kate so badly and figure out what was happening to him. He had to be able to defend Marissa and their baby – especially since it would probably be like him, a born wolf. "No preference."

Marissa gave him a look, "No one ever has no preference."

Derek met her stare down for a couple moments but eventually caved and said, "All right – maybe I picture a girl first."

Marissa was smiling until her brow rose at that last word, "First? How many of these things are you planning on putting in me?"

Derek smirked, "You know wolves run in packs."

Marissa scoffed at him and leaned up for a kiss. They would table this conversation for later.

* * *

"Of course, you're still the team captain. You got your grades up just like Coach told you to, right?" Stiles asked as Jessie walked with him and Scott out of the locker room towards the field between stacks of bleachers.

"Yes, he did," Jessie said, weaving her arm through his elbow.

Scott shrugged, "But he never told me I was back on the team. He just told me to show up at tryouts today."

"Scott, he's not going to drop you from captain," Jessie assured him.

Stiles cut in, "We got bigger things to deal with anyway. Did you tell Argent yet?"

They paused at the edge of the field as Scott blanched, "Ah. I texted him, but he didn't get back to me."

Stiles gave the Alpha a look, "You told him his sister Kate came back from the dead over a text?"

Scott shrugged, "I didn't have the money to call France."

"Long distance charges are ridiculous," Jessie allowed. "And Chris isn't the best at keeping in touch for the most part anyway. At least Isaac knows how to use email."

"Yeah, you think you got money problems?" Stiles asked wryly. "Try paying for an MRI and a visit to Eichen House."

"They're still hounding you with notices?" Jessie asked sympathetically.

Stiles nodded, "Yeah, this one said, "Final."" He shrugged off the subject and asked them, looking around at their lives, "Now, what the hell are we even doing here anyway? We got like 141 million problems and worrying about our status on the lacrosse team is not one of them."

Scott was looking behind him though, into the field, "It is now."

Stiles and Jessie followed his eye line to see Garrett and Kyle – other team members – lobbing ball after ball at the net, trying to make one in, only for whoever was in the goal to catch every single one of them with his net.

"Who the hell is that?" Stiles asked.

The three watched on as the goalie took his helmet off, revealing a dark blond pale boy with light eyes dancing with laughter. He looked young. Younger than them. Jessie thought he might be around her sister's age. Garrett smirked at the younger boy and said, "Nice, Liam. You might just be our first ever freshman captain," as some of the other team members crowded around to share their own praise.

"Okay, maybe we should just practice a little bit," Stiles admitted.

"Hey Jessie!"

The three of them turned to see Beth walking over to them, with her canvas bag nearly capsizing her shoulder with a new stack of books. The younger girl smiled politely to Stiles and more genuinely with Scott, even hugging him hello – they'd grown slightly close after Jessie went away – and turned to her sister, "The office changed my locker assignment for some new students and I can't find it. Wanna help your favorite sister?"

Jessie rolled her eyes, "You're my only sister."

Beth giggled, "Do you at least like me more than them?" pointing to the boys.

Stiles gasped, "Nuh-uh, I don't think so. I'm not competing with a freshman for my best friend's affections."

"Aw, Stiles, I love you too," Jessie teased, pinching his cheek, even as he flinched away and looked to make sure none of the other lacrosse players saw.

Feeling eyes boring into her face, Beth turned towards the field to see the goalie staring. When he noticed that she noticed him, his face turned red and he looked away, slapping back on his helmet and calling for the guys to throw some more shots at him. Beth turned to the other three and asked, "Who is that? I don't think I've noticed him before."

"That's Liam," Stiles said with a bit of distaste at the freshman showing off on the field. "I think he's a new freshman. Don't know why he wasn't here last semester."

"He's cute," Beth observed lightly.

Jessie gave her a look, "Don't you have enough admirers?"

Beth smirked a little. It was true, Beth was popular in her own right, even as a freshman girl, and had plenty of boys following her around. Scott even had to intimidate one pesky pimpled boy away from her when she was just trying to get to class. But she hadn't given them any time of day. She spent most of her time mourning her brother, mourning her sister, and then anxiously waiting for her sister to return home. She didn't have time to entertain boys, even now that things had semi-calmed down. But maybe she could make time for the new lacrosse boy.

"Right, let's get you to class," Jessie laughed, pulling her sister away.

* * *

Gavin McGarretty had decided to tell Melissa McCall that he loved her. He was practically living with her and Scott at this point. They had been through a lot together. And he had never met another woman with such endurance and enduring compassion. He loved her. It was that simple. He planned to tell her simply, bringing her food at the end of her shift at the hospital today. He had just parked and was carrying in the bag of Chinese food when a teenage boy with no shirt in sweatpants and blood-soaked hands stumbled over to him at the doors.

"Help me..."

The boy promptly passed out at his feet. Gavin lept into action, dropping the food and picking the boy up to carry him into the hospital, seeing Melissa and one of the doctors immediately. "This boy needs help!"

Later, Gavin had refused to leave Melissa alone while she looked over the boy – who was silent with shock – and then got a call from the Sheriff that they'd found three bodies hacked to death that they believed to be his family. Gavin could see that Melissa was chilled as she looked over the bodies in the morgue and sighed, "Now I know why he hasn't spoken a word to the psychologist yet."

Sheriff Stilinski nodded, "He's going to be in shock for a while, isn't he?"

Melissa looked around, "This was his whole family?"

He nodded, "Mother, father, older brother. Sean was the youngest. And the only one that got away. The question is from what?"

"What could do this to a whole family?" Gavin asked aloud.

Melissa looked between them, "You mean who? These wounds weren't caused by claws and fangs. These are deep cuts, a combination of sharp and blunt force trauma."

Gavin stilled – he'd heard something like that before. But he couldn't put his finger on it exactly.

Alec added, "That's what the ME said. Some kind of axe."

"I can make some calls," Gavin offered. "See if anything like this has popped up in the 'other world.'"

The other man nodded to him thankfully, "Thanks. I just need to make sure that we didn't have to, uh..."

"Involve the kids?" Melissa guessed.

He nodded, "Yeah. If this is everyday homicide instead of the supernatural kind, then maybe we can give them the day off from the world of murder and massacres."

"When do we get a day off?" she asked rhetorically.

* * *

After practicing and changing into their school clothes, Scott and Stiles flanked behind Liam at his locker in the locker room.

"Hey, Liam," Stiles said loudly, slightly startling the freshman that whipped around to face them. "You want to explain what that was out there?"

Liam frowned at the accusatory inflection in his voice, "What do you mean?"

Stiles gave him a look, "That little display. Your little circus act."

Liam looked confused, "What circus act?"

Stiles' brows rose to his forehead, "You caught every shot."

"I was in goal..." Liam said slowly, not understanding why it felt like he was being interrogated by the older boy.

Stiles scoffed, "Yeah, but nothing, not a single shot got past you."

"Yeah, I was the goalie," he pointed out, looking between him and Scott. "You guys played this game before?"

"You're a freshman, right?" Scott asked, softer than Stiles.

Liam nodded, "Yeah."

"But you weren't here last semester," Stiles pointed out, his eyes narrowed on Liam.

Liam shuffled with gathering his things, "I transferred from Devenford Prep."

Scott tilted his head as he listened to Liam's heart jump a little, "You transferred?"

Liam said, "Yeah," and his heart beat stuttered again.

Scott gave him a look, "No, you got kicked out, didn't you?"

Liam flushed in embarrassment, "All right. Look! Kicked out or transferred, what do you guys care? I came here to play lacrosse. The team could use a few good players, right?"

"No. No, we don't need any more good players," Stiles immediately denied.

But Scott reluctantly pointed out, "Actually, we could sort of use a couple."

Stiles frowned and peered at Liam again, "Okay, how'd you get this good? Have you always been this good? Or did it suddenly happen just once overnight. Have you ever been out in the middle of the woods during the night of a full..."

Scott cut his best friend off, "Stiles."

Liam cut in, shouldering his bag, "Look, I learned from my stepfather, all right? He made team captain when he was a sophomore." He turned to Scott. "Like you." Then he turned to Stiles with a little smirk, "And yeah... I guess I'm just that good," and walked off.

Scott gave Stiles a look, "He wasn't lying that time."

* * *

Malia already knew she didn't like High School. She hadn't been in school since she was a little girl. She didn't want to be here. She walked into her math class but paused in the doorway when she noticed Ms. Flemming was writing complicated looking equations on the board. Eyeing her exit, she slowly backed out of the room, only to be caught by an approaching Stiles, Georgie, Lydia, and Nuala, who helped cart her back in.

Malia struggled weakly against Nuala and Lydia pushing her in and sitting her down at the front, "I hate math. It's pointless."

"It's school," Stiles said as he and Georgie sat behind her and Lydia. "School is important, and math is essential."

Malia looked back at him, "To what?"

"Knowing how much to tip at restaurants," Stiles told her, earning looks from Lydia and Georgie.

Lydia tilted her head towards Malia, "And other less important things like medicine, economics, engineering..."

Stiles just repeated, "Tipping."

Ms. Flemming finished her writing and spoke to the class, "All right, volunteers to the board. Lydia, Diego, Malia."

Malia looked up dubiously, "Um... I didn't volunteer."

But the teacher wasn't having it, "You did now. To the board."

Malia looked at her equation next to a fast working Lydia like it was alien writing, holding the chalk piece in her fingers poised over the board – paralyzed. Lydia noticed she wasn't moving and whispered, "Did you go over the notes I gave you?"

Malia gave her a panicked look, "I didn't understand them."

Lydia shifted for a moment before reluctantly whispering the answer, "X equals 25."

Malia looked relieved as she scribbled the answer down.

"And sweetheart?" Malia paused and turned towards Lydia who added, "Put away the claws."

Malia gaped when she noticed her nails had turned to claws and quickly dropped the piece of chalk.

Stiles and Georgie were working quietly in their books when he got an alert on his phone. When Georgie saw his face, she was instantly worried another impending Beacon Hills supernatural fight was headed their way. And she wasn't far off.

* * *

"An axe murderer?" Georgie repeated, befuddled, as she and Stiles relayed to Scott and Jessie what Stiles had gotten an alert about.

Stiles flailed his arms as he repeated, "A family murdering axe murderer."

Scott and Jessie shared a look as he reluctantly admitted, "We already heard about it."

Stiles gaped at him as they stopped at Scott's locker, "Wait. What? You did? How?"

"My mom called me. She knew we'd see it on the news," Scott explained.

Stiles started walking for the exit, "Perfect. Let's go."

But Georgie pulled on his arm to stop him as Scott said, "Whoa, whoa. We've got Econ in five minutes."

Stiles gave the three of them in front of him a look of confusion, "All right. Did you forget the part about the family murdering axe murderer?"

"Did you forget that your dad's the sheriff?" Scott asked back as he got his book. "They want us to stay out of it."

Stiles gaped at them, "Are you guys kidding me? There's a family murdering axe murderer and we're not going to do anything about it?"

"There's no reason to think that these murders are anything supernatural," Jessie pointed out.

"She's right," Georgie said. "We should let the police handle this one."

Stiles looked between them, "So, all of you, you just want to stay here, school, go to class." He scoffed when they said nothing and walked off, "Never heard anything so irresponsible in my life."

Georgie rolled her eyes and walked after him.

Scott laughed at his antics and shut his locker, facing Jessie, "You're lucky you don't have to take econ anymore. What are you going to do with all the free periods you have now?"

Jessie shrugged, "I'm learning ASL online."

Scott grinned, "Will you be coming to tryouts? I could use the good luck."

"Coach is going to make you captain, Scott," Jessie assured him, awkwardly taking his hand. She didn't know how they were supposed to act around each other. Their relationship was still newly romantic, and she didn't understand how they were supposed to be different than they were before – in public. "But I'll be there."

He smiled, "Great. See you then." He didn't know how to walk off. Should he kiss her goodbye? Should he hug her instead? Should he just walk away like he used to when they were just friends? And after they both said goodbye and he was still standing there, staring at her awkwardly, he finally settled on giving her a chaste cheek kiss and walking into his class.

* * *

"So, just a cheek kiss?" Stiles asked as he and Scott got ready for tryouts in the laundry room.

"Yeah, I didn't know what else to do," Scott said.

"But you're official now right?" Stiles asked. "You guys did your big declarations after we got back from Mexico?"

"Yeah, but we didn't really talk about, labels or anything," Scott said. "What if she wants to take this slow? Tone down the PDA."

Stiles thoughtfully scratched at his chin, "Well, she was fine with PDA when she dated Isaac." At Scott's expression – clenched jaw, solemn eyes – he backtracked from reminding him about Jessie and Isaac's relationship and floundered. "But – you know, they still broke up and all that – um, doesn't matter. He's in France. We've all grown up since then." He gaped at the hole he'd dug himself into now.

Luckily, Coach marched in then, "As a reminder, it's an open tryout today. All positions available. This is a rebuilding season, people. Jackson's gone, Lahey's gone... Greenberg, the one guy I actually wanted gone... Was held back. Again. Get your asses on the field."

As the others dispersed, Scott approached Coach tentatively, "Hey, Coach... I just wanted to ask if... I was still... If I'm... You know..."

Coach just said, "You're on the team, McCall."

"But..." Scott stopped the older man from walking off. "But am I... Everything that I was on the team before?"

"All positions are open," Coach said uncharacteristically quietly, walking outside.

* * *

Jessie reclined on the bleachers with Malia, Kira, Nuala and Beth, watching the lacrosse players run the track while Coach timed them.

"Terrible. Horrifying. Pathetic. Unbelievably pathetic. Is that everyone?"

Jessie laughed with the girls as Stiles straggled at the end, bent over and panting.

"Yep, that's everyone."

Scott ran up to Stiles, "I got you."

Stiles panted heavily, "Who came in first?" He followed Scott's eyes to where Liam was already doing sit ups with a group of guys. "He isn't human," Stiles complained. "What is he? Like a Were-Cheetah? Does it even exist? Is that a thing?"

"I think he's just good," Scott said.

Stiles whined, "I'm gonna puke, take me somewhere."

Scott said, "Okay. Okay," as he carted Stiles away to a tree.

Beth sat contentedly next to her sister, glad to have any excuse to hang out with her. Jessie was the one with the car and wanted to stay to watch tryouts and support Scott. And Beth was happy enough to wait too. Their dad was back in his position at the hospital, and had been for a little while, even before Jessie got back. Paula had quit her job at the bakery when she and Beth moved to LA. But once they moved back, their mother ended up taking the bakery over for Marissa and her mother, since the younger woman was both pregnant and still readying for a medical career.

But Beth could still feel a blush on her cheeks whenever the new boy looked over at them in the bleachers as the boys lined up to take shots on goal. Jessie didn't notice yet, watching Malia fumble with her pre-cal text book. "How did math class go?"

Malia groaned, "I don't get any of it. You're lucky you don't have to take it anymore."

Jessie shrugged, "It's hard for them to justify sticking me in classes I've already passed because of my eidetic memory."

Kira next to her peered over, saying, "We can study after this at my place. I'll help you with Lydia's notes."

Malia gave the girl a wide smile as she agreed, "Thank god!" and the kitsune blushed deeply under her pale skin.

Georgie sat up straighter when Stiles got up to take his shot, lobbing the ball with as much straight as he could muster. They both watched as the ball sailed through the air and landed – right into the goalie's net. A lot of the other players laughed as Stiles walked back to Scott towards the end of the line.

Nuala snorted next to her, "Yeah – he's a champion."

Georgie nudged the huntress with her elbow, "Shut up."

Next, the new guy, Liam made to take his shot. And sunk it into the goal with an almost deadly accuracy.

"Yes!" Coach cheered as the smirking new boy sauntered back through the line.

This time, Jessie noticed the blond boy stealing looks at her sister and gave Beth a look, "You definitely have a new admirer. A cocky one."

Beth shrugged, "They're all cocky at this age. I can handle them."

The girls waited until Scott got up to his turn. Jessie expected something like his tryouts after he was bitten – when he miraculously became the best player on the team and wowed everyone, and thus confirmed Stiles' theory that he was turning into a werewolf. But it wasn't like that. Scott had moved with confidence, but the ball slammed into the goal post, confusing all.

One of the other team members, Garrett, snickered, "Nice, McCall."

Stiles stared at the other boy sarcastically, "Hey, Garrett... Shut up!"

One by one, players took their shots, after shots, after shots. Stiles and Scott looked like they were drowning out there, not making a single one. But Liam, of course, with a permanent smirk, made everyone shot he tried and got praise every time.

Kira grimaced and asked the others, "Isn't the captain supposed to be one of the best players on the team? Or good?"

Jessie frowned too, "Maybe he's just having an off day. He'll get better, once he shakes it off."

Beth looked at her sister and whispered, "Can't he just use his... wolfy talents?"

Jessie shook her head, "He says it's cheating."

"Are we sure this new boy isn't using some kind of extra talents?" Nuala asked wryly.

"Scott wouldn't been able to pick that up by now," Jessie said. "This boy is all human."

The Coach blew his whistle and got the boys to gather up and then announced, "McCall and Stilinski, grab the long sticks. You're covering goal for two-on-ones. Let's go! Line it up!"

Stiles and Scott got on their helmets and stood to defend the goal while the others lined up to try and get passed them. Jessie seriously hoped they'd do better at this to balance out how horrific they'd been trying to make goals. The first player tried to spin around them, but Scott was able to strike his stick down to the ground.

"That's my boys!" Coach cheered as others in the stands started cheering for their fan favorites. Jessie grinned to herself when she heard him tell another player, "Those two are like sons to me."

Another player tried to get through them, and Stiles and Scott cold blocked him on either side and knocked him to the ground.

"That's how you do it! That's how it's done!"

But next was Liam, who stared ahead with determination as he scooped up the ball and got ready to charge. He quickly spun around Stiles, letting the spaz flail to the ground. And then he was able to dodge Scott's strike and make it passed him to make the goal, smirking as everyone clapped.

Malia suddenly stood up and shouted, "That was luck!"

"Malia!" Kira whispered-yelled at her, trying to get the were-coyote to sit down.

But Malia didn't listen, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting again, "Do-over!"

Coach didn't look at her much as he called back, "Sweetheart, there's no do-overs. This is a practice."

Malia stood tall and said with a smirk, "Ten bucks on Scott and Stiles."

Coach suddenly looked at her and immediately agreed, "I'll take that action." He turned to the players and called, "Hey! Get back in there, Liam."

Liam reluctantly obeyed, scooping up another ball and charging through. Stiles was able to knock his shoulder, even if it didn't stop him. And Scott ducked and pushed his shoulder into Liam's chest, flipping the boy over him. But Liam landed awkwardly and hard on the ground. Jessie flinched as she heard something crack and the boy let out a pained groan that made everyone pause and rush over.

"Don't move! Don't touch him!" Coach yelled as he ran over.

"Is he okay?" Jessie heard Beth say, to no one in particular.

Liam moaned as he tried to stand on his own, "I'm okay, Coach. I'm all right." But the second he put pressure on his leg he almost capsized. Scott and Stiles readily ducked their head under his arms and helped him stand. "Ahhh! I think it's my leg."

"I think we better get him to the nurse," Stiles said, and he and Scott started walking Liam off of the field.

"You guy's take a lap. Run around... Start running around the field!" Coach ordered the other players, picking up a ball, "Stupid!" and tossing it blindly towards the bleachers.

It raced through the air for Malia's oblivious face. Jessie was ready to catch it in her bare palm – exposure risks be damned. But Kira beat her to it, with a lacrosse net. Malia looked up startled when she noticed what had happened, and the rest of the girls were looking at Kira with shocked awe.

"Oh! Wow! Nice catch," Coach called, gesturing for Kira to, "Throw it back!"

Kira bemusedly did so, standing from her seat and tossing the ball out of the net towards Coach. It sailed with force and slammed into Coach's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Kira's eyes widened comically, "Oh, my God."

Coach wheezed, "Someone ask her if she's ever played lacrosse."

* * *

Jessie and Beth were waiting out in the hallway outside the boys' locker room. Beth was frowning at the floor, "I can't believe Scott broke his leg."

"It wasn't Scott's fault," Jessie said. "Injuries are common in lacrosse and he wasn't even using his wolf abilities."

Beth pursed her lips, "I guess so. I'm gonna wait in the car, okay?"

"Don't drive off without me," Jessie warned her playfully, handing over the keys.

As Beth disappeared around the corner, Scott finally walked out of the locker room, "Hey, sorry about all that. We're taking Liam to the hospital. It might be a sprain, it could also be a break."

"Damn," Jessie whistled. "That's tough. But you know it's not your fault, Scott, right?"

Scott frowned, "If I wasn't so consumed with getting captain again, maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"You can't know that," Jessie said. "You didn't lose control out there, Scott. Your job was to defend the goal and you did that. That's not even the ugliest injury we've seen on the field. It happens. And it'll be okay. Besides, wanting captain isn't bad. I know I didn't seem to believe that we could have lives outside of what we are and what that all means outside of this place, but you made me see differently." She stepped closer to him and took his hands in hers, "You said we have to enjoy life. That we can't wait for something to interrupt our lives. And you were right. You're more than the true Alpha, you're also a high schooler and lacrosse player, and friend and boyfr-"

She stopped just of the word boyfriend. It seemed ridiculous to trip over words like boyfriend and girlfriend when they had grown and come together, clawed through all the obstacles that come with living in Beacon Hills and being what they were – and even confessed their love for each other. The little details like labels and PDA in the hallways seemed tawdry.

Scott was thinking around the same lines. This wasn't a huge obstacle. It was just a small hurdle on the way to their relationship. "About earlier – when we said goodbye – sorry-"

"Sorry you kissed me on the cheek?" she cut him off, confused.

"No," he answered. "Sorry I was so awkward about it. I just didn't know how to say goodbye."

"We've been saying goodbye in the halls for two years, Scott," Jessie told him softly.

He gave her a look, "It's different now."

She sighed, knowing he had a point, "You're my boyfriend, right?"

He smiled softly, "Yes. And you're my girlfriend?"

She smiled now, "Yes. And that means that any way we choose to say goodbye in the halls is the correct way. You can kiss my cheek, hug me, kiss me, we can fist bump-" they laughed at that, "or you can even throw me against the lockers and we can make out passionately until the late bell rings. Any way is the right way."

He gave her a grin, "Thank God," and pulled her in, crashing their lips together. Still smiling, she tossed her arms around his neck while his hands encased her hips and pulled her closer.

* * *

"Finally," Beth complained when Jessie finally climbed into the driver's seat.

Jessie laughed at her dramatics, "Oh hush, you're still alive, aren't you?"

Beth watched Beacon hills pass by as they drove home, giving Jessie looks through her peripherals, "So... are we going to talk about that blonde lady that gave me the creeps last week?"

"It's nothing," Jessie immediately replied, keeping her eyes on the road.

"She was staring at the house like it was the key to the kingdom," Beth pointed out. She turned her head to look at Jessie properly, "You know I'm not in middle school anymore. And I'm not as oblivious to the truths of Beacon Hills as I used to be. Especially after what those hunters did."

Jessie flinched, remembering when Matthias 'Smith' had coerced his children Alec and Emily to befriend her in order to gather information. They were a family of hunters under Gerard's thumb and took his side in the war declared on Derek and all werewolves in Beacon Hills. They ended up kidnapping Jessie's parents and Beth to use against her at the final showdown, inadvertently exposing her latent vampire abilities – before they even knew that's what they were – as well as the existence of werewolves and other supernatural things. It had led to Paula and Beth moving to LA to be safe, leaving Hunter behind to watch out for Jessie. And that only led to him being paralyzed from the waist down when Jennifer Blake – the Darrach – tried to sacrifice him for her revenge against the Alpha Pack. Paula and Beth immediately packed up and moved back to Beacon Hills, but Jessie had already been sent away to Portland to complete her full transformation. It has been a huge snowball of events.

Jessie had hoped when she returned, it would mean that at least her family life would be back to normal. But when she got back, she learned that they'd been in touch with Scott and he had taught them all about what he knew about Beacon Hills supernatural world, and also Chris Argent, who had given them some non-fatal weapons to defend themselves. What she didn't know or realize, was how much research Beth had done since being kidnapped about everything to do with the supernatural.

"Fine, you know about werewolves, vampires, etcetera," Jessie allowed. "But the stuff I saw in Portland is different. That woman is different."

"And so what?" Beth asked. "Just tell me. I won't tell mom or dad. They'll go postal. That's why I called you that night anyway."

Jessie sighed, "Her name is Hilda. She's a sort of – witch."

"What, like Georgie?" Beth asked.

"No, she's a hexenbeist," Jessie corrected. "It's part of a different race of supernatural beings called parahumans. My ancestors call them wesen. The kind that they – the Grimm brothers – wrote about and started the whole hunting game with. They can hide what they are, like they're wearing human masks. But part of being a Grimm like me and my cousin in Portland that I stayed with, is that we're able to see through the masks. Hilda is a nasty witch – they're self-service or for hire or just fueled by revenge and power."

"So, you met this woman in Portland?" Beth questioned.

Jessie nodded as they pulled up to their house. Luckily, both of their parents were still at work. "More like we went head to head. I came out on top and she's pissed."

"Is that why she's here?" Beth asked as they walked into their house. "To hurt you?"

"I don't know what she's planning," Jessie admitted. "All I know is that hexenbiests don't just let things go. I humiliated her, I beat her."

"How?" Beth asked.

"She came at me and I won, I got away," Jessie said as they stopped in the kitchen. "I didn't get the chance to do what I was planning to do – which was take away her powers."

Beth pursed her lips, "And how would you have done that?"

"According to Nick, if a Hexenbiest consumes Grimm blood, then they lose their powers," Jessie explained. "It's brutal for them. Like losing their soul. They even get shunned by the whole hexenbiest community and never really feel like themselves. But she was getting out of hand. She attacked Nick and Sienna and Monroe. She ki-"

Beth was startled by how violently Jessie cut herself off and the tears welling up in her eyes. "What is it, Jess? What did she do?"

Jessie had to take a deep breath to calm herself. She was still getting used to identifying and controlling her emotions without locking them away like she used to. Letting out her slow breath, she whispered, "She's the one that killed Alex."

"Oh..."

Jessie wiped under her eyes and shook her head, "He and I were separated from Nick and Monroe. She got to us with this weapon. Bigger than a knife but not a sword. She was going for me, but even when she got a swipe at me, I immediately healed. But when she got at Alex... he didn't heal."

"I'm sorry, Jessie," Beth said quietly, walking around the counter to hug her sister. "It wasn't your fault. She's the one who killed him. And if she's really here after you, you can get him justice."

"I just hope that it doesn't come to that."

* * *

Melissa was not impressed to see Scott and Stiles checking Liam into her ER. But she still dutifully started wheeling Liam to an examination room, "Don't worry, Liam. We'll take good care of you," eager to get back to the still silent and traumatized boy that showed up covered in his own blood earlier.

"I got to get going," Stiles told Scott, feeling guilty. "Georgie needs me to give her a ride to Kira's. She accidentally ended up with Lydia's notes."

Scott nodded, "Sure. I want to check on him anyway." He was going to stay and make sure he didn't really hurt Liam that bad.

Stiles hesitated to leave, "Hey, I don't need to say that wasn't your fault, right?"

Scott shrugged, "I don't know. Jessie said it wasn't."

"And she's right," Stiles agreed. "Scott, if you had used any wolf power that kid wouldn't be limping, he'd be crawling, back to the other half of his body."

Scott looked away, still not letting himself off of the hook, "If I hadn't been so worried about being captain, he wouldn't be hurt either."

Stiles sighed, "It's okay to want something for yourself once in a while. Team captain, Alpha werewolf. You're still only human."

* * *

"So… x is 42?" Malia questioned, staring between her books and her homework, reclining on Kira's bed with the kitsune next to her.

Kira grimaced, "Actually, it's 36."

Malia groaned, "Ugh. I don't get why I have to take stupid math anyway. I hate math."

"Math is important," the fox giggled. "You don't know what you want to do after High School. Maybe whatever career you choose will require math."

"I won't be choosing any career that has anything to do with math," Malia grumbled, sticking her highlighter into her book and slamming it closed. "Can we take a break?"

"Um, sure," Kira said, sliding her book aside. "What do you wanna do?"

"I know what I want to do," Malia murmured. "Not sure I can."

Kira rested against her pillows next to the other girl and asked, "What do you want to do then?"

Malia gave her a contemplative look, her eyebrows stitching together in thought. She then started to slowly lean forward, closer to the other girl's face. Kira's brain worked in slow motion, and before she could react to what she could tell was about to happen, the were-coyote's lips were gently pressing into hers. And before her brain could process that and react, Malia was pulling away and staring at the girl's blushing cheeks.

Kira blew a bit of air through her pursed lips, "Wow…"

* * *

Scott walked as quietly as he could down the hospital hallway towards where Liam was getting looked over. His ears prickled with the voices of Liam and the doctor, as he stopped just short of the open door.

Doctor Geyer wasn't sure what to say or how to say it as he looked over his step son's bruised and swollen ankle, "Okay, just..."

Liam cut him off, sullen, "It's broken, isn't it?"

"It's definitely going to need an X-ray," Geyer reluctantly spoke.

Liam frowned deeply at his ankle, "It's broken. And it's my fault."

Geyer leaned against his hospital bed and sighed, "You want to tell me what happened?"

Liam's voice was understandably downtrodden, "I went up against two juniors. One of them is captain of the team."

Scott felt a ball of guilt fall into his stomach. He felt bad for Liam. He was a freshman, trying to make a name for himself at this brand-new school. To show them what he was made of. He didn't deserve Scott's jealousy.

"Remember what we always say?" Liam's stepdad asked him. "Play smart, not hard."

"Are you mad at me?" Liam asked in the smallest voice.

Geyer immediately answered, "No, of course not." Which made Liam feel better. Geyer tried to lighten things up by remarking, "Your mom might be mad at me for getting you into lacrosse, but maybe we should both wait for the X-ray before we panic. And trust me... I have more reason to panic than you. It's not over yet. Wait for that X-ray."

Scott immediately turned around as Geyer left the room. And then cursed when his phone rang and saw it was Lydia. That couldn't be good. "Hey, Lydia."

"Where are you?" Lydia's panicked voice pitched over the phone. "I couldn't call... I couldn't get away from the deputy."

"Okay, slow down..." Scott tried to calm her down.

"You need to get to the hospital," Lydia spoke rapidly. "You need to get there right now. The son, the only one who survived... He's there."

Scott's eyes widened, "So am I. I'm at the hospital too."

"Then find him. Find Sean Walcott."

* * *

Melissa peeked her head into the dark hospital room, "Sean, are you awake?" No one answered, and she hadn't seen the deputy that was supposed to be watching Sean. So, she treaded lightly as she stepped in to turn on the light, "The Sheriff's on his way, I'm going to need you to wake up."

But once the light was on, she saw the bed empty, sheets tossed over, and instantly knew that something was wrong. She walked around the bed to investigate the other side of the room and gasped at what she saw. Sean standing over the dead deputy's body, with his intestines hanging off his clawed hands while he dug into the flesh with rows of pointed razor-sharp teeth.

Sean looked up at her gasp, his eyes a glowing void white, "I couldn't help it. I'm so hungry. I'm just so hungry!"

Melissa stared in horror as Sean stood in front of her, blood dripping from his snout. "I think I'm ready to talk now."

She screamed as she leapt from the room and he tackled her to the ground. She desperately fought against him as she begged, "No! Leave me alone!"

Scott raced down the hallway, tackling Sean away from his mom. The wendigo growled and started running off. Fully transformed, Scott turned to check on his mother. There were spots of blood staining her scrubs, but she seemed unharmed. "I'm okay. I'm all right."

Scott asked to be sure, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, grim, "Go get that son of a bitch."

* * *

Liam idly limped into the deserted hallway, having heard someone screaming, "Hey! Anyone hear that? I thought I heard someone..."

* * *

Scott raced through the hospital, tracking Sean's scent. The trail led him to the roof, where he blanched at the sight of Sean holding Liam in a choke hold.

"Get back!"

"Don't. You don't need to do this," Scott tried to talk Sean off the proverbial – and almost literal – edge. "Whatever it is. Whatever you are, we can help you."

"No, you can't," Sean breathed harshly.

Scott still begged, "Let me help you."

"Wendigos don't need help. We need food!" Sean declared, digging his claws into Liam's side. The terrified let out a yelp in pain and Scott had to act.

He growled, transforming again, and leapt for Sean, dragging him away from Liam. The momentum, however, led Liam to fall over the edge of the roof, grasping for the edge to desperately hold on for his life. "Oh, God! No! No!"

Scott shoved Sean away and went to grasp Liam's hands and try to pull him up. But a vicious Sean attacked him from behind, trying to claw and swipe at him to get to Liam – his meal. He managed to yank both of Scott's arms behind him. Liam was down to one hand clinging to the ledge – then four fingers.

"I can't hold on!" he called up.

Scott was struggling against Sean's hold. He had to stop Liam from falling to his death. He was innocent. But he was slipping, and Scott just couldn't get his arms free from Sean's hold. It was a desperate, madness filled moment of insanity, when Scott jerked his head forward and clamped his jaws around Liam's arm just as his grip on the roof gave way.

Liam shrieked in pain. Scott's teeth almost burned into his skin and blood. Scott realized the gravity of his actions. But it was preferable to letting Liam fall to his death.

All of the sudden, Sean's grip on Scott slacked as a weapon sailed through the air and lodged into his back, killing him like his family was killed. Scott immediately lifted Liam back onto the roof and stared down at Sean's dead body. Another person was walking off, pausing to face Scott and reached a finger up to his face like the 'shh' gesture. The gesture was meant to cover someone's lips. But this man had no lips. Along with no hair on his bald head, almost black eyes, the skin where his mouth should be was smooth. As if he never had a mouth at all.

The man disappeared around the corner and out the door before Scott could really react to his appearance. And Liam's cries of pain brought Scott's attention back to what he had just done.


	6. The Lakehouse

"Like I said, I told my dad everything I could," Stiles told Scott as they walked into the McCall household later that night.

Scott had to confirm, "But you didn't tell him about Liam?"

"You barely told me about Liam," Stiles pointed out with exasperation. "What did you do with him anyway?"

"He's upstairs," Scott said, resigned.

"Doing what?" Stiles asked.

Scott thought on his answer for a beat before saying simply, "Lying down."

Stiles couldn't believe his eyes when Scott led him to his bathroom and showed him Liam squirming in the bathtub, bound and gagged with duct tape. He also couldn't believe that he wasn't all that surprised or alarmed at the sight. Not after all he had seen already. So, he just slowly re-closed the shower curtain, despite Liam's groans of protest, and returned to the bedroom with Scott to sit down.

"So, you bit him."

"Yeah," Scott sighed.

"And you kidnapped him," Stiles deadpanned.

"Yeah."

"And brought him here."

Scott sighed, "I panicked."

Stiles nodded, speaking sarcastically, "Yup. This isn't going to end with us burying the pieces of his body out in the desert, is it?"

Unfortunately, it seemed that Liam could hear them, for they heard the younger boy shouting from behind the tape covering his mouth.

Stiles gave Scott a look, "As a reminder, this is why I always come up with the plans. Your plans suck."

Scott looked over at him, "I know. Which is why I called you. So, what do we do?"

Next thing he knew, he and Stiles were dragging Liam out of the tub and planting him on a chair in his room, crouching in front of the still squirming boy.

"Liam, we're going to take the tape off your mouth," Stiles spoke calmly, like a hostage negotiator. "If you scream, it goes right back on. If you talk quietly, it stays off. Got it?" Slowly, Liam stilled in the chair and nodded. Stiles said, "Okay," and took the tape off of his mouth.

Liam let out a harsh sigh.

"Okay, Liam, now you've seen a lot of confusing things tonight," Stiles said slowly. "And more confusing things are going to happen because of the confusing things that happened tonight. Do you understand?"

If anything, Liam looked more distressed, "Not really."

Stiles sighed, "Good. That's good."

Scott looked at Stiles, "I don't understand either."

Stiles waved for Scott to say something, "Maybe you should tell him."

"Tell me what?" Liam asked, frustrated.

Scott thought hard on how to proceed with this kind of conversation, "Liam... What happened to you, what I did to you, which I had to do in order to save you, it's going to change you."

"Unless it kills you," Stiles added impulsively. It earned him a distressed look from Liam and a frustrated one from Scott. "Shouldn't have said that."

Liam was still freaked out, "What?" His face crumpled as his shoulders started to shake unevenly.

Stiles blanched, "Uh... Uh-oh. Oh-oh. Is he...? Is he crying?"

Scott kneeled in front of the younger boy, "Liam, it's okay. You're going to be all right."

Liam continued to sob.

"You're not going to die," Scott tried to reassure him.

But Stiles just had to add, "Probably not."

Scott gave him a look and whispered, "Stop it."

Stiles corrected himself, "Okay, possibly not."

Scott sighed and stood, "Would you just help me untie him?" As he and Stiles took off the binding tape, Liam kept his head bowed. "Liam? Are you okay?"

Stiles added, "We're sorry about that. We're really sorry."

Liam started up with a grunt and turned his back to them, gripping the top of the wooden chair.

Stiles asked slowly, "Liam, what the hell is your..."

With a great grunt, Liam gripped the chair and picked it up, swinging it back at them. They ducked just as it crashed against the door frame and shattered. And Liam leapt over them and started running.

Stiles yelled, "Ah. Get him."

Liam sprinted down the hall but paused at the end of it when he realized he felt no pain in his previously excruciating ankle. It felt completely healed now. Before he could resume running away, Scott and Stiles were tackling him and all three of them were tumbling down the stairs in a struggling heap. Stiles and Scott both tried grasping to his legs or arms to restrain him. But after a moment, they realized they were tangled with each other, and Liam was nowhere to be seen.

"Your plan sucked, too," Scott pointed out, panting.

"Then you should have called Jessie."

* * *

Kira and Lydia were sitting in class at their lab station, the young Kitsune remembering the previous night with mixed feelings, when she looked over at Lydia's open laptop and noticed pages of weird symbols were loading up on the screen. "These are your math notes? No wonder Malia's failing."

Lydia hummed, "Um, some of them are my notes. The rest I think might actually be a code."

Kira looked at her new friend, still disturbed by the mysterious nature of her abilities, "But you don't remember writing it?"

Lydia shook her head with pursed lips, "Not in the slightest. But considering my drawing of a tree led us to the Nemeton, I should probably figure out what it means before it tries to kill us."

"Maybe it's like the Enigma Code the Allies used," Kira suggested. "Remember my dad was a World War II buff? And my mom was, well... In it."

Lydia nodded thoughtfully and added, "I think it's a variation on something called the Vigènere Cipher."

"Do you know how to crack it?" the kitsune asked.

"With a key."

As if those words were some kind of key, Lydia's mom appeared in front of them, holding up the keys to their family cabin. But her face was stern as she said, "Remember the rules. No more than six people allowed in the lake house. Stay out of the wine. And if anything gets broken, it's getting added to your credit card debt."

Lydia agreed, "Fine," and reached for the keys.

But Mrs. Martin held them away and added, "And lock up the basement. From all the scratch marks I found on the walls, it looked like a pack of wild animals got down there."

As the new teacher walked off with that last request, Lydia and Kira shared a look. They'd been using that basement for Malia's transformations. But how much longer would they get away with it?

* * *

"You kidnapped Liam last night!?"

Scott rushed to quiet Jessie's shrill shriek as they walked across campus that morning, covering her mouth with the hand of his arm across her shoulders. "Do you want me to get arrested?"

"You're lucky you haven't been thrown in jail by now!" she pointed out.

"I didn't know what else to do," Scott told her. "I bit him!"

"To save him," she retorted. "But you still need to explain to him what's going on."

"I have to get him alone first," Scott said, looking around, having been tracking Liam's scent. He followed the smell to look at the busses' drop off and saw Liam talking to his friend, Mason. The boys locked eyes and Liam immediately ran off into the building.

Jessie and Scott ran after him, Jessie texting Stiles to meet them and head Liam off.

Stiles did so as they all met up in the hallway outside the locker room, "Liam, hey!"

Scott blocked his back tracking with Jessie by his side, "We need to talk."

Liam glared at him, "No, you need to back the hell up, okay?"

"Can you just listen for one second. Please?" Scott appealed to him. "Liam... We're brothers now."

Jessie gave him a look, and mouthed the word 'what' just as Liam said it out loud, "What?"

Stiles was giving Scott a look too at Scott's awkward words, "Oh, God. That's..."

Liam glared at Scott, "What are you talking about? We just met, and you bit me."

Scott inwardly admitted he was right, but still tried to appeal to him, speaking seriously and somewhat solemnly, "The bite... The bite is a gift."

Jessie gaped at him before she started laughing, "Oh my god – you're trying to sound like Derek, aren't you?"

Stiles broke up her laughter with his own words, "Scott, stop. Please stop," before turning to Liam with a attitude filled glare of his own, "You, you, we're trying to help you, you little runt."

Liam gave him a look, "By kidnapping me?"

Jessie pursed her lips, "He's got you there, boys. That was a bad move. Still can't believe you pulled that stunt."

Stiles grimaced, "Just to clarify, Scott kidnapped you. Okay? I aided and abetted."

Scott tried to calm the situation down, speaking softly, "Liam, I've gone through this before. Something's happening to you. Something big."

"Nothing's happening to me," Liam snarled at him, unraveling the bandage on his arm to reveal smooth, healed, no-bite-marked skin. "Nothing."

Jessie, Scott, and Stiles shared a worried look at the sight.

* * *

"I'm not sharing my basement," Malia instantly protested as the group gathered behind the busses to talk about a plan to isolate and restrain Liam during his first change.

Lydia gave her a look, pointing out, "Actually, it's my basement. And my mom noticed how you tore it up last time."

"All right, she's still learning," Georgie defended the were-coyote, clinging to Stiles' hand.

"But we're going to use the boathouse for Liam," Scott amended. "It's got support beams. We can chain him to one of them."

"And Scott and I can guard him," Jessie added. "Make sure he doesn't get out even if he does manage to break free. Scott's his Alpha, he'll get him to submit, even as an uncontrollable new wolf."

"But how do we get him out to the lake house if he doesn't trust us?" Kira asked.

Lydia looked over at Jessie, "Can't vampires compel people? Get them to do whatever you want?"

All eyes turned to Jessie at this revelation, especially Beth's. Jessie straightened up, almost defensively, "Yes, kind of. I practiced with it a bit in Portland when I first turned – but never on a supernatural being before. I don't know if it would be different. More difficult or whatever."

Stiles gestured to the Alpha werewolf of their group, "Well, try it out on Scott."

Jessie gave him a look, "I am not going to attempt to compel my boyfriend."

Lydia let out a low whistle, "At least you're finally calling him your boyfriend."

Beth shared a smirk with the older girl, "I know, right? Took them long enough."

"So not the point guys," Jessie said. "I don't feel comfortable trying to compel Liam either. New plan."

Stiles accepted that and moved on, "I say if it keeps him from murdering someone, we chloroform the little bastard and throw him in the lake."

Malia instantly agreed, "I'm in."

"We're not killing or kidnapping him," Scott insisted, not believing the words leaving his mouth.

Lydia looked at the group, "Then let's be smarter. We tell him there's a party and invite him."

Stiles gave her a look, "So, you're going to ask out a freshman?"

"No, I'm done with teenage boys," Lydia quipped. "But we all know who Liam likes..." she trailed off as she fixed her eyes on Beth Hansen.

Beth immediately flushed in embarrassment, "What? Me?"

"We did see him looking at you a lot during tryouts," Kira admitted.

Beth blushed in the apples of her cheeks, "So? I've barely talked to the guy. And everyone knows that I'm Jessie's sister, and she's friends with all of you, including his kidnappers. What makes you think he'll trust me?"

"You're attractive," Malia said, matter-of-factly, earning looks from the group. "What? I could hear his heart beating faster whenever he looked at her. He'll do whatever she says."

"Why does it sound like we're pimping out my baby sister?" Jessie asked ruefully.

"Do you have a better plan?" Lydia asked.

* * *

Liam and Mason were idly chatting on their way out of their first class when Mason suddenly stopped walking and smacked Liam on the chest to get his attention as he noticed something down the hall. "Dude – Bethany Hansen is looking at you."

Liam gulped as he noticed that Mason was correct. Bethany Hansen – the prettiest and most popular freshman at Beacon Hills High School – was walking towards him. She even looked shy as she looked at him with a small and friendly smile. Liam could even swear that he heard her heart beating a little fast. Almost as fast as his was pounding as she got closer, and even spoke to him.

"Hey, Liam."

Liam gaped at her dumbly for a moment, until Mason roughly elbowed his side, jolting him to stutter out, "H-hey, Beth."

Beth smiled as greeted Mason too, "Mason, right?"

Mason gaped a little too. He may not be attracted to girls. But even he was tickled to realize that Beth knew his name. "Yeah, it's Mason. I'm – Mason. He's... Liam. Hi."

Beth tried to feign cool confidence as she said, "Mind if I borrow Liam for a minute?"

Liam blanched at the thought of being alone with her, without Mason to keep him from saying something stupid. But Mason immediately abandoned him, "Absolutely not. See you later."

"Thanks," she said as he walked off. She turned back to Liam, a bit sheepish, "I just wanted to see how you were feeling..."

"Feeling?" he questioned. Did she somehow know about his weird night last night?

"Yeah," she said. "It looked like you got really hurt at tryouts yesterday."

He breathed a sigh of relief at her clarification, "Oh yeah, that."

"It doesn't look broken," she said optimistically, casting a look at his completely unhindered foot. "You got it checked out at the hospital, right? I wanted to stop by then, but I don't have a car or anything."

"No, it's okay," Liam almost rushed to reassure her. "It ended up not being as bad as it looked."

Beth knew he was lying. It must have been hurt badly, but healed after Scott bit him, just like the bite healed. Scott had told her all about the beginning of his transformation into a werewolf when Peter bit him in the woods late at night. How the nasty bite into his side healed way too quickly. And he stopped needing his inhaler and became a pro at lacrosse when he had always struggled before. All things he hadn't been able to understand or explain before he was suddenly sprouting some furry sideburns and claws and fangs.

"That's good," she cheered. "But I was still hoping to cheer you up about it."

Liam gulped, "Cheer me up?"

Beth nodded, trying to quell her own nerves. "Yeah, there's this party tonight. And since I'm friends with a bunch of the juniors, they invited me and said I could bring whoever I want. Do you want to come?"

Liam gaped at her, completely silent.

Beth took that as him getting suspicious, and rushed to add, "If you don't want to, it's fine. No pressure or anything. I just thought it would be fun. I'm catching a ride from my friend, Kira, and we can pick you up. But, like I said, no pressure."

"No!" Liam suddenly shouted nervously. At Beth's frown, he raced to add, "I mean, yeah, I – I think I can come. It sounds like fun."

"Great," Beth smiled, and twisted her book bag to pull out a sharpie and grasped his hand, scribbling her phone number onto his palm. "Here's my cell. You can call it, so I can save your number, and I'll text you a time?"

Liam stammered breathlessly, "...yes."

* * *

Beth felt her palms sweating as she sat with Liam in the back seat of Kira's car as they drove out to Lydia's lake house, trying to answer Liam's questions about where this party was. "You know Lydia Martin? Her grandmother had this lake house out in the woods. It's really nice and right by the water. It's really pretty at night, when the moon gets reflected on the water. I can show you."

Both teens blushed at her words. But Beth noticed how uncomfortable Liam looked, almost like he was in pain. Scott told her that his first transformation was painful and disorienting. And it was already dark out. He could be changing any moment.

Liam didn't understand the pounding his head, or the feeling like he was going to burst out of his skin at any moment. Or why the music from the car radio was practically reverberating in his ears. He flinched harshly and asked, kind of loudly, up to Kira, "Can you turn the music down?"

Kira asked, "You want me to turn the music up?"

Liam gasped softly when the music immediately quelled, like it hadn't really been as loud as he was hearing it just a second ago. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. With sweaty hands, he pulled it out and saw a text from Mason asking where he was. Liam nervously looked at Beth and asked, "Who'd you say was coming to this party?"

"Oh, everyone," Beth said with forced nonchalance.

* * *

Scott's bike roared as he and Jessie rode up to the lake house to meet up with Lydia, Stiles, Georgie, Nuala, and Malia. Scott and Jessie took off their helmets and Scott told them, "We just talked to Kira. She's on her way. She said it's all going fine."

"It better be," Jessie quipped, worrying her lip. "My sister's in that car with him."

"I won't let anything happen to her," Scott promised. "And neither will Kira."

"I'd hold off on the promises," Stiles broke in solemnly. "I asked around about Liam. I know why he got kicked out of his last school."

Scott grimaced, "This is going to be bad, isn't it?"

Stiles nodded, "He kind of got into it with one of his teachers. And... The kid's got some serious anger issues."

"How bad are they?" Jessie asked, her anxiety for her sister spiking.

Stiles pulled out his phone and showed them a photo, "Well, that's his teacher's car. After he took a crowbar to it." The car was beaten to a pulp, practically shredded, with the words 'THIS IS YOUR FAULT' scratched into the side of it.

"Shit," Jessie cursed.

* * *

Beth grew more and more nervous the twitchier Liam got in the backseat next to her and was relieved when Kira pulled up to the dark lake house. Liam looked around with more suspicion though, "Where is everyone?"

Beth grimaced, having to think quickly, "Um, we kind of got roped into helping finish set up. I hope you don't mind. I know it's lame to decorate and all that."

Liam softened, growing more focused on his crush leading him into the house, "No, no! It's okay. Anything to help."

Kira opened the door for them and Beth made sure to walk in just behind Liam. It was a good thing, because Liam immediately stopped when he noticed the others in the lake house, staring at him in the dark, and a bag full of chains on the coffee table.

Liam glared at them, but mostly Scott, "What the hell is this?"

"Think of it like an intervention," Stiles told him. "You have a problem, Liam."

"And we're the only ones that can help," Scott added.

Liam gave Beth the most betrayed look she'd ever seen before. She flinched at the look and walked around to stand with Jessie and Scott. "We're just trying to help explain everything to you."

"We're like you," Scott explained. "I was bitten too. I'm a werewolf."

Liam didn't look entertained. He just looked angry.

"Okay," Stiles laughed nervously. "Just know you're not alone. Scott's your Alpha. But Malia, is also a were-coyote. Trippy – right?"

"Lydia's a banshee," Beth quickly took over. "Like the mythical wailing spirit that can sense death. And Kira is a thunder kitsune, like a fox spirit. She has electricity powers and stuff."

Liam was looking at her like she was crazy.

She grimaced, but rushed through her explanations, "And Georgie is a witch, she used to have smoke powers, but I think she's upgraded to fire?" Georgie nodded, and Beth moved on to her sister, "And you know my sister, Jessie. She's actually two things. She's a descendant of the Grimm Brothers, they're like a family of hunters, but she doesn't hunt you. And she's also a vampire. Some people called her this Demi-Cruore, which means half-blood."

Liam stared at her for a second, and they could all see he wasn't buying any of it. He gestured to Scott, "Werewolf?" Scott nodded. He pointed to Malia, "Werecoyote." Then Lydia, "Banshee." Then he looked back at Kira, "Fox?"

Kira nodded, "Kitsune. But fox works."

Liam looked back towards Jessie, "And Demi-cure?"

"Demi-Cruore," she corrected slowly. "But you can just settle on vampire."

Liam looked at Stiles and Nuala, who got no supernatural introduction, "What are you?"

Stiles shuffled as he answered, "Uh, for a little while, I was possessed by an evil spirit. It was very evil."

Liam asked, "What are you now?"

Stiles hesitated, what could he say? "Better. Um..."

"And you?" Liam asked Nuala.

"Normally, I'm a hunter," Nuala answered. "But I only hunt killers. So, you're safe. For now."

"Nuala," Georgie chastised her softly. The hunter just shrugged it off – it was true.

Liam then looked at Beth, still looking angry, but also betrayed and sad, "What does that make you? A vampire too?"

"Actually, no," Beth said. "Jessie and I don't have the same biological parents. I'm just a human who has seen a lot."

Liam dragged his eyes away from her to the chains on the table, "Are those for me?"

"No, they're for me," Malia told him, letting her eyes glow bright blue.

Liam frowned, backing away, "How did you do that?"

Scott stepped closer, "You'll learn. But first, you need to get through the full moon."

Liam gestured to the window, face perspiring, "The moon's already out." He grunted as he tried to back away, but Kira was still blocking the door.

Scott gave him a knowing look, "And you're starting to feel something, aren't you?"

Liam glared at him, starting to pant heavily in pain and discomfort, "I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of psychotic nutjobs." As he spoke, he got angrier, and his voice got louder, "You guys are out of your freaking minds. I don't know how you did that eye thing and I don't care. I'm walking out the door right now! If any of you try to stop me, I swear to God, I'm gonna..." He suddenly bent over, crying out in pain.

Beth gasped in concern and tried to step forward to help him, but Scott grasped her arm and pulled her behind him. "What's wrong? Liam?"

Liam gasped as he fell to the floor, shouting, "You don't hear that?" covering his ears.

Lydia blanched when headlights flew across the front window, "Did you tell someone about this?"

"My friend Mason," he grunted as they heard kids hooting and hollering outside. "You said it was a party."

Stiles asked, "Who did Mason invite?" dreading the answer.

Kira peered out the glass of the front door, "Everyone."

Liam growled again, and Beth almost screamed when she saw his fingernails turning into claws, digging into the hardwood floors. She vaguely heard Lydia whining for someone to get him away from the floors before Liam let out a loud roar.

"We need to get him to the boathouse," Scott said hastily. He and Jessie quickly grabbed Liam's arms and started guiding him towards the back of the house. "Now!"

Malia suddenly bent over the coffee table, grunting, "Stiles... Kira..."

"Yeah?"

She turned to them with fangs and glowing blue eyes, growling deeply. She had to get to the basement and chained up quickly.

"Hey... Okay, basement. Now. Now," Stiles helped her up and he and the kitsune started taking her towards the kitchen.

Lydia's eyes bugged as her and Georgie were being left to their own devices with the oncoming masses. "What am I supposed to do with the hordes gathering outside the door?"

Stiles gave her a look, "Lydia, who throws the best parties in Beacon Hills?"

Lydia shrugged, "What? Me, obviously."

"Okay, then throw a party," Stiles encouraged her. "Georgie and Nuala will help."

* * *

Scott grunted as he and Jessie struggled to chain Liam up, "I got him. Get his hands."

Liam thrashed as Jessie got a vice like grip on his wrists behind his back. She hissed when his claws dug into her skin. Her grip slacked a bit and he broke free, attacking Scott. Scott flew on his back and tried to hold Liam away. Jessie came up behind the younger boy and locked her arm around his neck, cutting off his air. He gasped harshly for a moment and Scott almost got scared for him as he struggled. But soon, Liam passed out on the ground.

"Great," Scott breathed, quickly gathering the chains and assisting Jessie with chaining him up against the post, upright.

"Hopefully Stiles and Kira are having better luck with Malia," Jessie sighed. "And hopefully Beth is safe surrounded by rowdy freshman in the lake house. I can't believe I allowed her to be bait for him."

"It was all we could think of to get him here," Scott told her as they sat in heaps at the edge of the boat house, by the water. "And she's fine. You know I'd never let anything happen to her."

"I just can't believe she's so involved in this now," she murmured. "She seems too young, you know?"

"I know," he agreed quietly. "Him too. They're only fifteen."

"Barely younger than we were when this all started," she said.

Scott took her hand in his, "We'll protect her. And we're going to help him."

"If we can get him to listen to us," she said.

"He will."

* * *

Beth chewed her lip as she watched the party rage around her. Lydia was desperately trying to keep people from damaging the house. A guy with a keg showed up, which Nuala dealt with. Georgie was trying to keep the music from getting too loud. She hoped that Stiles and Kira were doing okay with Malia in the basement.

She just mindlessly moved through the crowd, hearing different chit chat.

"What are you smiling about?" she heard Violet say. She was another freshman Beth had a couple classes with. She was dating one of the lacrosse players, Garrett, who she was asking why he was smiling.

Garrett was smirking at her and showed her his phone, "Our friend just sent me a text."

Beth didn't understand his tone as he said it. But the couple quickly started making out and Beth moved along, hoping that this night would be over soon.

* * *

"Liam? You up here? Dude, where the hell are you?"

Lydia cursed to herself as she followed Liam's little friend upstairs and into her grandmother's office. "What are you doing up here? The party's downstairs."

Mason gave her a dubious look as she rushed in and picked up a couple glasses of wine from the desk, "I was looking for Liam."

Lydia gave him a look, "Sorry, but missing freshmen are a little low on my priority list."

Mason caught her on her wording though, "But not so low you don't know he's a freshman?"

Lydia thought quickly, "I might have seen your friend. Downstairs." She balanced the two glasses in one hand, so she could grab his shoulder and start guiding him out of the room. But she tripped, and the glasses tumbled onto the white carpet, spilling red everywhere like splotches of blood. She gasped and panicked, bending over the impending stain and digging her shirt sleeve into it to try and save the mess. "Oh, my God, the carpet... No, God, no."

Mason was a little taken aback at her freak out but tried to reassure her, "Hey, it's all right. It'll come out." But she just seemed to further panic the more that she tried to rub the stain out. "Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Was it valuable?"

Lydia stopped her futile task and whispered, teary eyed, "No. That's the problem. Nothing in here's valuable. We just put the house on the market. It was supposed to be left without a scratch. It has to be in perfect condition. We need every penny we can get out of this place."

Sensing she was going to start crying again, Mason rushed to try and help. "Okay, let me go get some club soda and salt. Lydia, it'll come out. It will. Okay," he ranted as he left the room, shutting the door after him.

Lydia started when all the sound of music and chatter completely silenced. She looked at the door in wonder, slowly standing and pulling it open, flinching as the loud noises from downstairs were heard again. And when she closed the door again, it all went away with stark contrast. "Soundproof?"

For some reason, even in the silence, she heard something. Something that didn't sound like a sound but still lead her across the office to her grandmother's old record player. Like her hands were on strings, she set up the record player to play, and listened to distorted beeping and inklings of voices in her mind, gasping when the images of faces started pressing out at her through the blank wall.

They were trying to tell her something.

* * *

Kira flinched as she watched Stiles routinely tighten the bounds on Malia's wrists attached to the chains bolted to the wall so she couldn't get free and attack anyone. She hated that Malia had to go through this. It was easier for her. She didn't really change into anything. There was just a power inside of her. And most of the time it was a cool power. But Malia's powers had already hurt people – including her mom and sister.

Stiles checked the cuffs to make sure they were fastened properly. "Too tight?"

Malia grunted, "Tighter. You can leave if you want. Both of you."

"We're not leaving," Kira said resolutely, trying to hide her shivers.

"And to be honest, I'm probably safer down here than in a party with fifty freshmen and a very pissed off Lydia," Stiles joked.

But Malia was already half-transformed and growling. "Please go."

Kira stepped forward, wanting to comfort the were-coyote, but Malia just snarled at her. She backed up in instinctual fright, and felt guilty for it.

Again, to try and ease the tension he could sense, Stiles joked, "It's okay. I hate parties. It's a social anxiety thing. You ever had a panic attack?"

Malia groaned as she doubled over, "I'm having one now!"

Stiles flinched at her loud growl. "Ah! Just breathe, okay."

"We're gonna be right here with you," Kira added, edging closer again.

Malia smacked her teeth at her, "What if I hurt you?"

"You won't," Kira tried to reply confidently.

Malia snarled and lept out her, her bound claws outstretched and trying to swipe at her. "But I want to. Uh! I look at your face and I want to slash at it. I want to tear at it. I want to feel your bones crack between my hands."

This time, Kira didn't flinch away, just out of Malia's reach.

"Surprisingly enough, you're not the first person to ever say something like that," Stiles spoke over her growls.

"I'm not leaving you. And I'm not going to let you hurt anyone," Kira said resolutely.

As if struck by the full moon, Malia bent back and howled, "Ah! You're not going to have a choice." She doubled over again, "Please just leave. Run away!"

"Look, Malia, I know you're scared you're going to hurt one of us," Kira began to babble rapidly, trying to get through to Malia faster. "Because of what happened with your family. I felt horrible for what happened at the hospital with the power cord, and that it's basically because of my powers that the Nogitsune took Stiles over. I'm still trying to find control, and find out what being a Kitsune means. But I know I don't have to do that alone. We're all in this together. And that means we're here for you too. And this doesn't have to be something you need to fight."

As she stepped closer, she could feel Malia calming down. When her breathing evened out, Kira leaned in and kissed her. She forgot that Stiles was there – giving the boy a very big surprise – and felt Malia kiss her back. When they pulled away, Kira smiled when she saw Malia's face back to normal. "There. You did it."

* * *

Jessie and Scott sat side by side, Jessie letting her legs swing at the edge of the floor above the water, short enough to avoid dipping her toes in. She could hear crickets, the wind, and the music from inside the house. "You know, this reminds me a little of Homecoming Sophomore year."

Scott looked at her suddenly, "What? How?"

She shrugged, "Think about it. We're dodging some kind of killer, trying to make sure a werewolf doesn't go beserk – only this time it's Liam, not you – and trying to act normal in a group of rowdy teenagers more concerned about sneaking alcohol and getting lucky. Hopefully tonight doesn't turn into some kind of final showdown like it did back then with Peter."

Scott nodded thoughtfully, "I remember that night. We barely got time to enjoy it before things went haywire. You got maybe one dance with Isacc. And I only got one with... Allison."

They both quieted as they remembered their fallen friend. Scott had loved Allison with all his heart, falling stupid for his first real relationship. It didn't matter that he was an unstable werewolf and she came from a family of werewolf hunters. They loved each other, and they fought all odds to stay together. But they had broken up anyway after her mother died and the whole business with the kanima. Allison had grown so much on her own, and never stopped loving him. But none of it mattered in the end. The Oni had still managed to kill her while under the Nogitsune's control, devastating all of them.

Jessie and Isaac had almost had parallel issues like Scott and Allison, with a much less tragic ending. They'd been giddy first loves, coming together naturally and easily, and falling in love pretty quickly. But they'd been torn apart amid war between the wolves and Gerard, when Isaac went behind her back and got bitten by Derek. They had fought past those obstacles to come back together. And it still didn't matter in the end either way, because they'd just become two very different people. Different from each other and different from who they used to be when they first fell in love. And they broke up on their own. And Isaac had been forced to watch the girl he still loved die by Jennifer Blake's hands. It had been devastating, even after she came back. Ultimately, all the events of Beacon Hills had been too much for Isaac, and he'd chosen to get away. He was now in France, with Chris Argent, starting over.

"Is it weird to say I miss them?" Jessie whispered. "Even now."

"Of course not," Scott assured her. He paused, and a quick grin slipped onto his lips, and he stood up.

Noticing his sudden change in demeanor, Jessie looked up at him, "What?"

Scott pulled out his phone and tapped on the music icon on his screen, scrolling through until he clicked on a slow pop song, and set his phone down on a pillar, holding his hand out for her. "We never got a chance to dance at Homecoming."

"We were with different people back then," Jessie pointed out wryly. "And a psychotic alpha crashed the party."

He chuckled and kept holding out his hand towards her, "Well – now's our chance."

She let him pull her up into a standing position and held his hand, casting a look in Liam's direction. "What about him?"

Scott smirked and joked, "He can dance with me next time."

Jessie laughed and let him pull her closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he held her waist. Softly, she threaded her nails through the hair at the back of his head, commenting, "You know what? I'm proud of you tonight. You've kept a tight lid on your control, even with all the craziness. You've come a long way since Stiles chained you up in your bedroom."

Scott chuckled, "I picked up a few tricks since then. A lot of it's about making sure that my pulse doesn't get too fast. And my heart rate doesn't go up."

"Wax on, wax off," Jessie joked. "I bet I could get your heart rate up."

Scott's breathing became shallower as she stepped closer to him, her chest pressing against his, and her lips inching closer and closer to the skin of his jaw. "I bet you could."

She smirked as she pressed her lips against his skin, slowly building kisses up his neck until she latched onto the sensitive spot behind his ear. She heard him groan in his chest as his fingers dug into her hips and pulled her even closer. With a grin, she pulled away to kiss his lips, feeling her chest lighten up when he kissed her back as passionately as two lovers reuniting in death.

When they finally pulled away, Scott frowned when she giggled and asked, "What?"

She stared into his red eyes, "Your eyes are glowing."

With a small flush, he cupped her cheek, staring into her glowing cobalt eyes, "So are yours."

With a blink, her eyes were back to normal, "I guess we both have that effect on each other."

"We do," he murmured.

"At least I didn't growl," she joked, having heard the noise during their make out session.

But Scott frowned, "I didn't..." and his eyes trailed behind her to where Liam was awake and beginning to fight against his restraints.

"Those chains aren't going to hold him much longer," Jessie said, worrying her lip with her teeth.

"He can't be that strong," Scott argued, but still spun them around so that she was behind him. Just in case.

"You were when you first changed," she pointed out, just as Liam let out a large yell and broke free of his chains. Almost too quickly, he swiped past them and crashed out of the boathouse through the window.

"We have to catch him before he kills someone," Jessie gasped, already flipping through the now broken window and sprinting through the woods. Scott struggled to keep up with her, since she was now faster than him, but he was able to hold his own.

They clashed with Liam against a tree, when the new wolf suddenly turned on his Alpha and attacked him. Scott was able to hold him off, "Liam... Liam, wait. Stop!" while Jessie tried to get him back into a headlock.

Liam growled as he slashed at Scott, "What did you do to me?"

"Liam... you need to take a deep breath and try to relax," Jessie said as she struggled to get a grip on the erratic Beta.

Liam growled at Scott as he fought, almost slipping completely out of Jessie's hold, "This is your fault. It's all your fault! This is your fault!"

Suddenly, an arrow flew over their heads, colliding with the tree above them and setting off a flash that nearly blinded the wolves. Liam screamed, "Ah!" and ran off in pain.

Scott and Jessie both stood and looked behind them to see where the arrow had come from, only to see none other than Chris Argent, flanked by the McGarretty brother – Connor and Gavin – approaching with a crossbow in hand.

Scott held off a warm greeting to ask the absentee hunter, "How did you know?"

Chris grinned, "I got your text."

"Hello, love," Connor greeted his charge, Jessie, with a grin and looked her over. "Are you hurt?"

"No, we're both fine," she assured the brother figure.

"Scott, you okay?" Gavin asked his girlfriend's son.

Scott greeted the older man warmly. He had been good to Melissa since they started their relationship. And he and Scott got along, sometimes even better than he got along with his own father. "Yeah, I'm okay. We're more worried about Liam."

Chris gestured behind them, "There's a clearing just north of here. All you have to do is corral him there. The rest is taken care of."

Scott nodded, taking in the information, "What are you going to do?"

Chris gave him a look, "He's your Beta, Scott. The better question is what are you going to do?"

Scott sighed. He figured the hunter would say something like that. "He won't listen to me."

"He will if you start using your own words," Chris said wisely.

They could hear Liam start to scream off in the distance. Chris quickly handed Scott the button for the emitters and urged them quietly, "Here. Go."

Scott and Jessie quickly rushed off towards Liam's shouts. The beta was collapsed on the ground and clutching his ears in a square of emitters. Scott stopped in front of him and pressed the button, shutting off the emitters.

Liam panted, getting emotional and desperate, "What's happening to me?"

Scott knelt in front of Liam and tried to speak softly and calmly, "The same thing that happened to me."

* * *

Beth was growing more paranoid and worried over time as the party and the night wore on. She wanted to be at the boat house and help her sister and Scott with Liam. He liked her. Maybe he would listen to her. Maybe she could help keep him calm. But then again, maybe he didn't like her anymore. She had lured him to the lake house under false pretenses. She had betrayed him. Maybe she would only make it worse. She felt so guilty. But she still wanted to check on them. But she didn't want to wander out there alone and she did need to tell someone where she was going. So, she started looking for Lydia. If she didn't agree to go with her, she'd talk Beth out of wanting to go and maybe that was for the best.

She started roaming the house, trying to move through the crowds. She stumbled into the kitchen just off where some dumbasses were failing to tap a keg and bumped into Mason. She squeaked and tried to avoid meeting his eyes, but he saw her.

"Beth!"

She turned with a guilty fake smile, "Hi Mason."

Mason still looked stunned that she knew his name, but still asked, "Yeah, have you seen Liam? He's the one who texted me about this party and I haven't seen him since I got here."

"Oh, yeah, I gave him a ride out here, but things started getting crazy and we sort of lost track of each other," Beth fibbed on the spot. She felt surprised at how guilty she felt about it too. She used to fib about all sorts of things, so she could hang out with her friends or stay home from school. She was popular – and that had been all she wanted to be. But things happened that put things in perspective for her. She got kidnapped. She lost her big brother. She even lost her big sister for a while. She had a gun to her head. And she learned all about the real dangers out there.

"So, how long has it been since you saw him?" Mason asked her, confused.

"Not long," she lied. "But I didn't look for him very hard. I figured he has plenty of people he would probably want to see or talk to other than me. Didn't want to crowd him."

Saying that seemed to dissuade Mason's suspicious expression as he eased, and asked, "Do you like Liam?"

She was taken aback by his question, but found herself blushing, "I don't know..."

Mason smiled softly then, "You can tell me the truth."

She rolled her eyes, "No, I can't. You're Liam's best friend. You'd blab."

Mason laughed, "Hey – I can pull double agent."

Beth scoffed, "Whatever. Have you seen my sister? Or any of her friends?"

"I saw Lydia upstairs," Mason told her. "Some wine spilled on the carpet and she got upset. I've been looking for something to clean it up with, but I can't find anything."

"I'll take care of it," Beth quickly volunteered. "I know where the bathroom cleaning stuff is. You enjoy the party. If you find Liam..."

Mason smirked and tapped his nose with his finger, "Got it. See you around, Beth."

Beth wandered to the stairs, running into Georgie who was calling out for Lydia. "She's upstairs. Let's go."

Georgie nodded and followed the girl upstairs, catching a light on in the den at the end of the hallway. Georgie slowly pushed the door open and they saw Lydia standing in the room, almost lifelessly staring at a blank wall above a running record player that wasn't playing any music.

"Hey. Lydia? Are you okay?" Georgie asked her friend.

Beth walked on her other side and noticed the vacant look in Lydia's eyes. "What do you hear?"

Lydia finally spoke, in a whisper, "The key. The key to break the code."

* * *

Scott and Jessie were both crouched in front of Liam now, trying to help him. The younger boy was openly sobbing, choked up and panicking, "They can't know about this. My mom, my stepdad, I can't do this to them again."

Scott frowned, "What do you mean again?"

Liam frowned, looking ashamed. Jessie almost thought he looked like a scared puppy. "I got kicked out of school and I deserved it. The way they looked at me when they saw what I did to that car..."

Scott nodded as he understood how Liam must be feeling. "Liam, it's okay."

Liam shook his head, sobbing, "They can't see me like this."

Scott bent his head towards Liam, guessing his fears, "Like a monster?"

Tearfully, Liam nodded, still looking towards the ground.

Scott slowly stood and said, "You're not a monster. You're a werewolf. Like me," letting his eyes glow red as Liam finally met his eyes. Liam seemed calmer, almost in awe of Scott's calm and glowing eyes. Jessie stood next to him, letting her eyes glow bright cobalt now too, so he'd further see that he wasn't alone.

* * *

Beth and Georgie could hear some kind of faint beeping from the record player as Lydia pulled up the code she's typed out on her laptop. At the end of the page, was a box to input a keyword into. Beth didn't like the sorrowful look on Lydia's trance-like face as she slowly typed in the key word letter by letter.

A-L-L-I-S-O-N

Allison…

Beth and Georgie barely had time to let the grief set in before the code was broken and the weird letters suddenly converted into a list of names and numbers.

"What is this?" Georgie asked, confused.

SEAN WALCOTT 250,000

DAVID WALCOTT 250,000

MICHAEL WALCOTT 250,000

CHRISTINA WALCOTT 250,000

LYDIA MARTIN 20,000,000

SCOTT MCCALL 25,000,000

JESSICA HANSEN 25,000,000

DEMARCO MONTANA 250,000

DEREK HALE 15,000,000

CARRIE HUDSON 500,000

KAYLEEN BETTCHER 250,000

KIRA YUKIMURA 6,000,000

Lydia spoke with dread of her realization, "It's a list of supernaturals in Beacon Hills. It's a dead pool. And we're all on it."


	7. The Deadpool

Scott flinched at the sound of Jessie's nails tapping on her steering wheel as she drove them to the Sheriff's station. She had not left his side since she caught sight of his name on the deadpool. He was fine with that, since he didn't want her out of his sight either. Her name was on the deadpool, under the same amount of money as his.

"Jessie..." he started speaking warily, not wanting to set her off. She'd gone on a few worried rants already over the news that there were any number of assassins out there like the Mute, after them.

"Don't tell me to calm down," she snapped lightly. "We are on a kill list."

"I know, but I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said. "We'll have each other's backs and we're going to figure this out."

"We don't know what the names on the rest of the list are," Jessie said. "We all could be on there. And who knows if this Benefactor character is going to let Stiles or Beth off the hook just because they're humans. Or our parents."

"Lydia will figure out the rest of the list," Scott said as she pulled into the station.

* * *

Stiles was showing his father all of his work and research as he walked him through what they'd found out about the deadpool and the trouble it had caused so far.

"So, the Walcott's were the first. At least the first that we know about. Four murders. Sean, his brother, and their parents. They were killed by a professional assassin called The Mute. Weapon of choice, a military tomahawk. But then The Mute was killed by Peter Hale after he tried to blow up Derek with a Claymore mine."

Jessie was concerned to realize what had happened. Especially after Marissa had called her to rant her own concerns. Since Derek had come home and told her that there had been a pool of blood in the hallway that he should have been able to smell from outside but hadn't even known it was there until the Sheriff sighted it with his flashlight.

"Next was Demarco. He delivered a keg to the party at Lydia's lake house. And got decapitated outside his car."

Scott remembered finding his headless body by his car outside the lake house with Chris, the McGarretty brothers, and Jessie. He and Chris had knelt over the body as Scott tried to get a sense for what had happened.

Chris had asked him, "Does the scent tell you anything?"

Scott had luckily gotten some idea of the situation. "Definitely a werewolf. But there's more. I think he was part of a pack."

"Well, if he was, they'll be looking for him."

Back at the Sheriff's office, Stiles showed them a photo of a blonde woman they'd found slain at the High School, "And then last night, 23-year-old Carrie Hudson."

Scott looked grim as he told the Sheriff, "It's a dead pool. A hit list of supernatural creatures. This is only part of it. The rest still has to be decoded."

Sheriff Stilinski peered at the list of names.

SEAN WALCOTT 250,000

DAVID WALCOTT 250,000

MICHAEL WALCOTT 250,000

CHRISTINA WALCOTT 250,000

LYDIA MARTIN 20,000,000

SCOTT MCCALL 25,000,000

JESSICA HANSEN 25,000,000

DEMARCO MONTANA 250,000

DEREK HALE 15,000,000

CARRIE HUDSON 500,000

KAYLEEN BETTCHER 250,000

KIRA YUKIMURA 6,000,000

"Who found this list?"

Stiles pursed his lips, "Lydia."

The Sheriff frowned, trying to grasp the concept, "How?"

"She wrote it," Jessie explained. "Without meaning to."

He turned to his son, "Banshee?"

Stiles nodded, "Banshee."

The Sheriff pinched his nose, "Beautiful. All right, what are these numbers next to the names?"

"We're getting to that," Stiles said.

Jessie jumped in again, "The code was broken with a cipher key."

The Sheriff blinked, "Wait. You mean, like a... Like a key word?"

Stiles frowned, "It's actually a name."

Quietly, Scott whispered, "Allison."

A hush broke over them before Stiles broke the silence with, "Her name broke a third of the list."

"And now we think there's two other cipher keys," Scott added.

The Sheriff nodded along, "Which will give us the rest of the names. Okay. So how do we get the cipher keys?"

"Same way we got the code," Stiles said.

"Lydia," Scott filled in.

"She's been out at the lake house all weekend trying to find the other two key words," Jessie said, thinking of poor Lydia practically comatose in front of the static record player with Kira, Malia, and Beth watching over her to make sure she took care of herself.

The Sheriff looked at Scott and asked, "You didn't know about Demarco or Carrie?"

Scott and Jessie shook their heads.

The Sheriff looked at the list again, "And what about, uh, Kayleen Bettcher? Another werewolf?"

Scott shrugged, "I don't know. But Deaton said that the Nemeton would draw supernatural creatures here."

"Here being Beacon Hills? Or Beacon County?" Stilinksi asked, dreading how large this could be. "The population of Beacon Hills is just under 30,000."

Stiles quipped, "And dropping..." earning an elbow from Jessie.

The Sheriff frowned, "But if we're talking Beacon County, then you're looking at close to 500,000."

"That is a big pool to work with," Jessie commented.

"Look, how many werewolves, banshees, kitsunes and whatever the hell else is out there are we talking about? And what if the next cipher key uncovers not 12 names but 100?" Stilinski ranted a bit.

Stiles cut in, "We don't think there would be that many. There's a limit."

Scott fingered the numbers next to his and Jessie's names, "Because of the numbers. We think that once we decode the names, the numbers will add up to 141."

"141 what?"

"Million."

Stiles reiterated, "141 million dollars, Dad. Stolen from the Hale vault and is being used by someone to finance all these murders."

"Someone wants us all dead," Jessie whispered, finding her hand in Scott's, squeezing it.

"So, the coded list goes out. And somehow these professional assassins get that list," the Sheriff said.

Stiles nodded, "And a cipher key."

"And then they go after the names on the list. They being killers with no mouths, tomahawks, thermo-cut wires that can take your head off," his father added with stress lines in his forehead.

"Let me see," Stiles requested, sliding the photo of Carrie's wounds closer to him. "Carrie was also stabbed. What's this mark?" There was some odd shape around her stab wounds, like a rectangle with some extra small sides at the would-be corners.

Sheriff Stilinski frowned and shook his head, "We're not sure yet. We're still waiting on the ME's report. There's one other thing I don't get. How did this new assassin know that Demarco was going to be at the lake house?"

Scott answered, "Everyone knows he delivers kegs to teenagers for a little extra cash."

The Sheriff didn't look impressed by that information. "Ah. So, whoever ordered that keg killed Demarco."

Stiles nodded, "Yeah, it was someone at the party."

"A student," Jessie added. "Possibly someone in Beth's class."

Scott squeezed her hand again, "We won't let anything happen to her either."

* * *

"So... you both are on a kill list?" Beth asked from the back seat of Jessie's car as she drove them and Scott to school.

"Deadpool," Scott and Jessie corrected her in unison.

Beth gave them a deadpan look, "How cute. But I'm serious. This is crazy."

"I know it is," Scott told the younger girl. He looked back at her, "But your name won't be on the rest of the list and even if it is, or you end up in danger, we won't let anything happen to you."

"Hey smart guy," Beth started with some attitude – she hadn't gotten enough sleep, "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about my sister, and you. You're like my brother."

"Aw, that's sweet," Jessie said from the driver's seat as she parked.

Beth rolled her eyes, "We also have Liam to deal with. There's that lacrosse game and Liam cannot play."

"I know," Scott sighed.

"You have no idea, Scott," Beth warned. "The school you're playing is the school that kicked Liam out. Devenford Prep."

Jessie and Scott shared a look. "Shit."

* * *

"It's not that we were wanting to talk to you. It's that we were wondering if you wanted to talk to us," Ken followed his daughter out of his classroom as she tried to make her awkward escape.

Kira nervously kept her back to him, "About what?" Had they discovered the deadpool on their own somehow? Or had one of her parents seen her and Malia in her bedroom the other night? She didn't want to have this conversation at school of all places.

He wasn't deterred, "About something that you forgot to mention? Something important."

Kira froze, "How important?"

"Exceptionally."

She turned to him with wide eyes. She was caught. "Oh, God. You know?"

Ken nodded, expectantly, "We know."

Kira started to babble, "Look, I was going to tell you. We were going to tell you everything. About the dead pool, the assassins, the killings. But I didn't want you to worry!"

Ken frowned in growing confusion as he pulled a burgundy jersey out of his bag, "I was talking about you joining the lacrosse team."

Kira's eyes widened even more as she snatched the jersey, "Oh. Then never mind," and swiftly skipped away before he could ask more.

"Dead pool?"

* * *

Beth knew she was probably being stupid trying to talk to Liam before Scott and Derek got to him in the locker room. But she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to apologize. He deserved to hear it from her. She hoped he believed her and forgave her. She tip-toed into their weight room as saw Liam at the dumbbells while Mason lifted weights next to him.

"You know how I keep reminding Garrett to give me back my hoodie?" Mason asked his paler friend as they worked out.

"Yeah," Liam grunted as he lifted the dumbbell weights before standing and adding more weight to the ends.

"Well, I remembered you said he lived in that housing development on Spaulding. So, I went there and guess what? The housing development is still in development," Mason revealed.

Beth paused. That was weird. She didn't know much about Garrett. He wasn't in Beacon Hills when they were in middle school, and then she'd moved away before he got there for freshman year, and they never got to know one another when she and her mom moved back. He and Violet were inseparable anyway, and the other girl had always given Beth the creeps. Quietly, Beth left the weight room to find Jessie and tell her. She'd talk to Liam later.

Liam didn't find it as suspicious as she – and Mason – did, "So?"

Mason gave him a look, "There are no houses yet. So, unless the dude lives in some backhoe, there's something he's not telling us. And then there's this other dude, man, he's... He's been acting really strange. Running to school for no reason. Disappearing at parties. Used to be my best friend."

Liam didn't get the cracks Mason was taking at him as he added more weight to his bar and prepared to lift it. "Uh-huh."

Mason's eyes bugged at the sight, "And he was apparently on steroids."

Liam stopped short and looked at him, "What?"

Mason gestured with his chin towards the weights, "You're not actually going to try to lift that, are you? Are you all right? I mean, is it about the game tonight?"

Liam sat up and shrugged, "I'm fine. It's just a scrimmage."

Mason gave him a look, "You know who you're playing, right?"

"Yeah," Liam fibbed before immediately changing his mind. "I mean, no. I guess I missed the announcement."

Mason slowly adopted a more serious expression, "Liam, it's your old school. Devenford Prep."

Liam abandoned his weights and stormed out of the weight room for the locker room. He tossed his bag into his locker, and stopped when he saw that his lacrosse stick was missing, "What the hell? Where's my stick?"

He stopped short when he heard the door creaking open, and the metal of a stick clicking against the floor. He followed the sound to the back of the locker room, where he saw a man he'd never seen before walk in, holding his stick.

Derek Hale brandished the stick cockily, "Is this yours?" He handed the stick in both hands and then snapped it with little effort, tossing the two pieces at Liam's feet.

Liam's eyes glowed bright yellow as he panted heavily and growled, lunging for Derek. Derek easily grabbed for Liam's throat and slammed him into the lockers. Liam fought and tried to slash at his hands, but a booming voice of his Alpha stopped him.

"LIAM."

Liam stopped fighting as much but was still breathing in and out quickly with anger.

"You're right. He is angry," Derek told Scott.

Scott held up another lacrosse stick as Derek finally let Liam down from the lockers, "This one's yours." The bell rang, cutting off their conversation. Scott spoke clearly to Liam, "Get to class, Liam."

Liam stared between him and Scott before stalking out of the room.

Scott paused when he saw Derek grinning at him, "What are you smiling about?"

Derek just kept smiling, "You're gonna be good at this."

Scott gaped, "Are you kidding? I am totally unprepared. Remember how you said you could teach me a few things? I think, right now I could use a full-on training manual."

Derek shrugged, "I'll tell you one thing. That anger he's got? It'll make him strong."

Scott added, "And dangerous."

"Very," Derek agreed.

Scott sighed, sitting down on the wooden bench, "This was supposed to be the semester I could focus on school again. And getting to some kind of new normal with Jessie. But Kate's back. And I've got a Beta. And there's a dead pool."

Derek sat down next to him, "If all our names are on that list, then that's what we should be focused on. Do you think Lydia can get that second key?"

Scott nodded, "She's working on it."

* * *

"Malia!"

The were-coyote shut her locker, highlighter in her mouth, and looked over to see a flushed and awkward looking Kira approaching her.

"Hi!" Kira breathed out. "I thought we should talk about, the other night, and then last night, and-"

"You mean the kissing?" Malia deadpanned, letting the highlighter fall out of her mouth and plop onto the books in her arms. "Was that wrong?"

"No!" Kira rushed out. "No – not wrong. Unexpected, you know? I didn't think you liked girls, or even – liked me. And I wanted to see what it meant…"

Malia gave her a wide-eyed look, like it should be obvious. It was simple enough to her. "It meant that I like you. Do foxes not have homosexual relationships?"

Kira blushed, but still felt so utterly confused. She had never been kissed by a girl. She had never liked a girl before. But she couldn't deny the butterflies in her stomach when she was close to Malia. She couldn't deny how much she had enjoyed feeling the other girl's lips pressed delicately and sometimes urgently against hers. But she still didn't understand what it all meant for the bigger picture of their relationship.

"I've never… you know…" Kira nervously giggled. "But I – I did like the… kissing…"

Malia didn't say it out loud, but she did find the kitsune's struggle and stammering, cute. "Kira – your heart is beating like crazy. Don't be so nervous."

Kira blushed even more, "That's not really my style."

Malia smirked, "I know. But try." Without another word, she leaned in and gave the girl a domestic peck. "I'll see you in class."

* * *

"Jessie!"

Jessie turned to see Beth skipping up to her at her locker, slightly out of breath. "Beth? What's going on?"

"I was at the weight room, and overheard Mason telling Liam that he went to get his hoodie from Garrett on the lacrosse team, and when he went to the development where he heard from Liam that Garrett lived in, he discovered that no one lives there because it isn't done yet," Beth said, her words sort of running together. "Which is weird, right? And at the party, when I was looking for Lydia, I saw Violet walk into the party to meet Garrett. Those two never arrive anywhere without the other already with them. And I heard Violet ask him why he was smiling, and he smirks all weird and says he got a text from their friend. But the only people they ever talk to were at the party. And they were being just all suspicious about a text."

Jessie stared wide eyed at her younger sister, trying to de-tangle the onslaught of her information. "Okay, you're going to have to walk me through that one more time."

Beth sighed, speaking slower, "So, Garrett and Violet started here at the beginning of the year at the same time, and they were already dating, right?"

"I was not here, Beth," Jessie said slowly.

"Right," Beth waved it off. "So, they're practically attached to the hip. Which is why I thought it was weird that they arrived at the party at separate times. And the way they talked about this 'friend' that texted Garrett, made me think it wasn't some other freshman they were talking about. And now, it turns out that Garrett lied about where he lives. And with everything about the deadpool, and someone from the party definitely killed Demarco – what if their 'friend' was the Benefactor?"

"Wow," Jessie stared at her sister in awe. "It's like you're a mini-Stiles."

"Hey," Beth laughed with levity, smacking her sister's arm. "It's not like I have a murderboard smacked with tape and grizzly photos."

"No, I'm just saying that's just the kind of leap that still makes sense that Stiles would make," Jessie explained, impressed. "Like with Matt and the kanima."

"Okay, so you think I'm right?" Beth asked.

"I think you're definitely onto something."

* * *

"Economic disparity exists in all forms. Well, take sports, for example. Some teams have better training facilities. Some have better equipment. Unlike Beacon Hills that can barely afford the duct tape to keep our equipment together," Coach ranted at the front of the econ classroom. Stiles wasn't paying attention, peering at a pile of crime scene photos of Carrie. Coach teetered off as he noticed, slapping the lacrosse stick in his hands over Stiles' desk. He crouched next to the now-startled boy and said quietly but seriously, "You know, Stilinski, if I could grade you on how profoundly you disturb me, you'd be an A plus student."

Stiles nodded, taking it as a compliment, "Thanks, Coach."

"Put those pictures away," he demanded before trying to go back to class. But Stiles' eyes zeroed in on the lacrosse stick and he reached out to grab him. "Stilinski!" Coach yelped as he tried to yank the stick back. Stiles didn't let it out of his grip as he yanked off the rubber stop at the end and stared between the shape of the hollow stick and the shape around Carrie's stab wounds. They were a match. When he let go of the stick finally, Coach said, "The hell is wrong with you? Don't answer that," and went back to class.

Scott was looking at Stiles expectantly.

"It's a lacrosse player."

Scott gaped, "The killer's on the team?"

Once they got a break, they met Kira in Coach's office, looking at every lacrosse stick and yanking off the rubber stops to see if there was a secret blade inside of them. Scott tossed another empty one onto the pile, frustrated, "This... This is pointless. Most of the team plays with their own gear."

Kira sighed, "Maybe instead of trying to find a lacrosse stick with a hidden dagger in it, we should be trying to get the game canceled?"

Suddenly, the door was yanked open. The three of them stopped with baited breath, wondering who was walking in. But they relaxed when they saw it was Jessie. "Hey, Stiles texted that you think Carrie's killer is on the lacrosse team. I think I know who."

"Who?" Stiles asked, flailing as he tossed the stick in his hand away.

"Garrett," she revealed. "Beth made a Stiles-level leap of logic and thinks both he and his girlfriend Violet were involved in killing Demarco."

"Demarco wasn't stabbed, he was beheaded," Kira pointed out.

"Beth said Violet met Garrett at the party after the keg was delivered," Jessie explained. "And apparently they never arrive separately. She also said she overhead them talking about a text from a friend, but they don't have a lot of friends. And they all would have been at the party. And apparently the development where Garrett claims he lives in, isn't even finished."

"That's amazing, she solved it!" Stiles cheered. "I think I've found an apprentice."

"But we don't have proof," Kira commented. "We can't get them arrested."

"The game's the best way to catch him red-handed," Scott said.

Stiles gave his best friend a look, "But what if he's red-handed 'cause his hands are covered in the blood of the person that he just stabbed to death? Which, by the way, could be any of you guys."

Scott nodded, frowning, "Or Liam."

"He's new, we don't know if he could be on the list," Jessie confirmed.

Stiles nodded, "We don't know anything about that list."

Kira agreed, "How it's made, how it's updated. I mean, who's been out taking a supernatural census anyway? How do they even know about me?"

Scott shrugged, "They know about everyone."

Stiles sighed, "I think Kira's right. I think we should stop the game."

Scott looked at him, determined, "I'm not afraid."

Kira agreed, "Neither am I."

Stiles gaped at them, "Well, I'm terrified. And I'm not even on the list. Georgie could be though!" They quieted and had to admit his fears had merit. "Guys, these are professional killers. It's their profession. One of them's got a thermo-cut wire that cuts heads off. Who knows what else they have?"

"But now we know who they are and what we're dealing with," Jessie said. "We won't let them get to anyone else."

* * *

Lydia sighed as she, Nuala, Malia, and Georgie walked through the halls. They'd huddled up in the art room trying to get Lydia to write or draw something to get them the second key word/name. But nothing happened. Then Malia had the idea that they should talk to the only other banshee they knew of, who she had spent time with at Eichen House. Meredith Blake. "Eichen House says Meredith can't have visitors without permission from a family member."

Malia huffed, "That's not gonna be easy since her whole family is dead."

"Perfect," Lydia droned.

"We can think of something else," Georgie tried to keep Lydia's morale up.

Malia nodded and suggested, "Okay, maybe we go back to the art room? Or music room?"

Lydia turned to them in the hallway and shook her head, "I'm not plucking piano strings for two hours waiting for some supernatural inspiration."

"We could just guess random names of all the dead people we know," Nuala deadpanned.

Malia spoke next, "What else do banshees do?"

Lydia stared at them, unimpressed and growing more and more frustrated, "You think I know?" She stepped closer to them, speaking lowly, "I can't just turn this on. I'm not like you guys. I don't have claws, or glowing eyes, or super senses, or even magic fire powers. I just have voices in my head."

The other girls noticed people staring at them, and Georgie quickly put an arm around Lydia and led her away from their prying eyes. Malia and Nuala shared a look, feeling slightly bad at their attitudes.

* * *

Beth had been nonchalantly keeping her eyes on Liam as she walked out towards the busses on campus with Scott, Stiles, and Jessie. The players from Devenford Prep had showed up on their bus and were getting off when she noticed Liam glaring at one of the players. Mason looked worried as well as Liam started walking up to the other boy.

"Brett!"

Beth watched with baited breath as Liam walked right up to him, breathing heavily. Brett looked at him, expecting some kind of argument. But Liam slowly put out his hand, "I just wanted to say... Have a good game."

Brett laughed crudely, "That's cute, Liam. Is that what they told you to say in Anger Management? Apologize and everything's fine? You demolished Coach's car."

Liam countered, "I paid for it."

Brett scoffed, "Yeah, you're going to pay for it. We're gonna break you in half out there. And it's gonna be all your fault."

Knowing that would be enough to set him off, Beth quickly ran over to intervene, not even thinking about it. She stepped between the boys with a hand on Liam's chest, feeling the slight vibration of his growls through her palm.

"I think that's poor sportsmanship, Talbot," Beth spoke to Brett with false bravado. Brett looked confused that she knew his last name. "I'm friends with your sister, Lori. And girls talk about everything. So, unless you want me to tell all your friends how old you were when you finally stopped wetting the bed – I suggest you keep things civil today."

Some of the other boys from Devenford were laughing among themselves, and Brett glared at her but kept silent. Behind her, Liam was already behind whisked away by Scott, Stiles, and Jessie.

* * *

Liam growled and fought against Scott and Jessie's grip on him as they held him under the shower in the locker room. His eyes were glowing yellow and his teeth were fanged and snarling and snapping at them as he tried to get free, growling loudly.

"Okay, you calm yet?" Stiles called from behind them.

Liam roared again but slammed against the tile under the falling water and finally composed himself, teeth and eyes going back to normal, "Okay! Okay!"

Scott stood over him as he sat away from the water. "That car you smashed. I thought you said that was your teacher's."

Liam was still panting from the episode. "He was also my Coach. He benched me for the entire season."

"Why? What did you do?" Jessie asked.

Liam frowned and mumbled, "I got a couple of red cards."

Stiles didn't look convinced, "Just a couple?"

Scott knelt in front of his beta and said, "You gotta be honest with us. What else happened?"

Liam tried to say, "Nothing." But by all of their expressions, he knew they weren't buying it. "I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychologist for evaluation."

Scott asked gently, "What did they call it?"

"Intermittent Explosive Disorder."

Stiles gaped in disbelief and humor, "I.E.D? You're literally an I.E.D? That's great." He turned to Scott, "That's great. You gave powers to a walking time bomb."

"Stiles," Jessie chided.

Scott ignored him and spoke to Liam as understanding as he could, "Did they give you anything for it?"

Liam nodded, "Risperdal. It's an antipsychotic."

Stiles guffawed, "Oh, this just gets better."

Liam immediately added, "But I don't take it." As if that made it better.

"Obviously."

Liam tried to beseech to them, "I can't play lacrosse on it. It makes me too tired."

Scott let out a sigh, "Okay. I think you should bail out of the game. Tell Coach your leg is still hurting."

Liam instantly denied the idea, "No, no! I can do this. Especially if you're there."

"It's not just about the game," Jessie cut in. "Demarco's killer is on the lacrosse team and we think they're going to make a move for one of you during the game."

Liam looked up at her, "Who's Demarco?"

Stiles answered, "The one who brought the beer to the party. The guy who was beheaded. Remember?"

"We think Garrett and Violet are working together with the deadpool and one of them killed Demarco," Jessie said.

"I heard Garrett paid for the keg," Liam said, now distracted from his earlier outburst and frustrations.

"Then Beth's theory is confirmed," Jessie hummed, turning to Stiles. "Maybe she should be your apprentice."

"Beth?" Liam questioned, and Scott and Jessie could hear his heart stutter over her name.

Jessie hid her grin over the sound and nodded, "Yeah. She's worried about you. She's outside in the hallway if you want to talk to her. Maybe change into some dry clothes first."

Luckily Scott had an extra shirt and the older teens left to give Liam some privacy with Beth. After changing, and running a towel through his blond hair, Liam nervously exited the locker room to see Beth leaning against the wall on her phone, patiently waiting for him to come on. He cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Um, hi."

Beth looked up, startled. He had been quiet in his approach. She quickly put her phone away and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine," he tried to assure her without a shake in his voice. She was still so pretty, and he was still nervous around her. "Scott and your sister helped."

"Well, they both have a lot of experience with getting control," she said. She fidgeted with her fingers and said, "And I, wanted to say sorry for the other night..."

Liam's brows furrowed together, "Sorry for what?"

Beth flushed, "Luring you to the lakehouse with a fake party? I mean, yeah, it turned into a real party, but that was not the plan. I didn't want to lie to you, but we know how bad it could have been for you to go through your first night as a wolf alone. And you wouldn't have gone near Scott again after he kidnapped you and everything. So, me inviting you out was all we could think of."

Liam started to smile a little as she babbled through her apology. "It's okay. I understand."

"Maybe at the next party we can actually hang out," she suggested.

He blushed, and shuffled his feet awkwardly, "Um, could you hear us in there?" gesturing to the locker room.

Beth suppressed a frown and answered him honestly. She had heard all about his diagnosis and anger problems. "Yeah, I could. But it's okay. Scott will help you with all of it."

Liam frowned, "But you know I'm insane?"

Beth stepped closer to him and shook her head, "You're not crazy, Liam. I've seen crazy. The werewolf that bit Scott went on a serial killing spree to take revenge on the people who burned his house down and killed a bunch of his family. The family of one of the hunters he killed – who was also a psycho – declared war on werewolves and ended up kidnapping me and my parents. And shot Jessie in front of us. At that point, I knew nothing about any of this, so I thought I was watching my sister die, and ended up watching her get back up from a bullet wound to the chest."

Liam gaped at her, "Oh..."

"You're going to be fine," Beth assured him, shyly taking his hand to try and show her support. "You've got plenty of people who know how to help you. I think you can even handle the game. Just don't let that Bret kid get into your head. And if you need it, I'll be at the game cheering you on and supporting you. With your hearing, you'll pick it up."

Liam smiled as his cheeks turned red, "Really? You would do that."

"Of course," she said, shyly letting go of his hand.

Liam kept silent for a bit before breaking the stretched-out silence with, "So, how old was Brett when he finally stopped wetting the bed?"

Beth laughed freely at his question and Liam found his chest puffing out at the sound he'd caused.

* * *

The Sheriff already felt overwhelmed later that night as he tried to rush out of his office to his son's game. But he was running late, and Stiles was quick to remind him of that over the phone.

"Hey, Dad, you're supposed to be here. Where the hell are you?"

"I'm leaving now," he assured Stiles. "And this conversation isn't getting me there any quicker."

But as he opened his office door, he saw Deputy Parrish there. "Sheriff, I know you're in a hurry, but I was out on patrol and I found someone walking from the coast to the High School."

Sheriff Stilinski quickly hung up the phone, frowning at his deputy, "That's gotta be at least 15 miles."

Deputy Parrish nodded, agreeing with his sentiments, but still knowing it was true, "She was pretty determined."

Stilinski followed Parrish's eyes to his right where he saw a familiar girl standing there – Meredith Blake.

"I'm looking for Lydia."

* * *

Liam was trying to stay calm as they waited for the game to start, but it was hard. He'd done some deep breathing that Beth suggested, but it wasn't working as he saw Brett fishing on a t-shirt.

"I don't care if he's a foot taller than me. I think I can take him."

Mason answered absentmindedly from behind him, "Yeah."

Liam turned back to see Mason openly gazing at Brett's form. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What? Me?" Mason scoffed as he jolted out of his staring. "Agreeing with you. I'm being agreeable."

Liam was skeptical however. "You think he's hot, don't you?"

Mason instantly denied it, "No! No. Not at all. No way!" But when he caught sight of Brett pulling up his shirt to dab his forehead, exposing his defined ab muscles, Mason muttered, "Maybe. Yeah, maybe a little."

Liam turned back to glower at Brett. "He wants to destroy me."

"I think you could definitely take him," Mason agreed with him. "And then give him to me."

Now, Liam openly laughed.

"Hey," Beth's voice reached them as the girl shyly approached them.

Liam smiled widely, but still stammered, "H-hey, Beth! Hey."

Beth blushed at his obvious nerves and said, "I just wanted to say good luck. I'll be in the stands with Georgie. So – good luck."

"Thank you," Liam muttered, voice quiet.

When he didn't add anything, Beth just smiled and nodded, "Well, I should go take my seat. I'll see you after, right?"

Liam just nodded silently, so she made her leave. Liam could feel Mason staring at him and looked over to see his smug friend, "What?"

Mason feigned nonchalance, "Nothing. Nothing. It's just like watching a train wreck. You can't even talk to her like a normal person."

"I'd like to see you do better with Brett," Liam retorted.

Mason laughed along, "I think she likes you, man."

"Shut up," Liam shoved him lightly before joining his team as Coach blew his whistle.

As the players started running out to the field, Scott stepped in front of Coach to try and talk to him. But Coach had little patience for conversation. "Hey, McCall, I said get your ass out on the field."

Scott protested, gesturing to Liam, "But Coach, his leg's still healing. I don't think he should play."

Coach shrugged it off, "He said it's fine."

Scott tried to speak with authority, "As Captain, I'm suggesting Liam sit out the game."

But Coach laughed in his face, "And as, uh, President of the United States, I'm vetoing that suggestion."

"What if he gets hurt?" Scott asked.

Just then, Brett, being a smart ass, called out, "Hey, Liam! Think fast!" and lobbed a ball right at him.

Taking on his instincts, Liam caught the ball in his bare hand.

Coach looked at Scott, smug, "Oh, he plays." He blew his whistle loudly and jeered his players onto the field, "There you go, Liam! Liam! Stilinski! McCall!"

* * *

"Your family has a vault underneath the High School?"

Derek answered Connor's question shortly, "The vault was here first," before he led them down the stairs. He picked up the wooden talisman with the same symbol he had tattooed on his back and handed it to Chris to see, "She was here for this. We use it to teach young Betas how to control the shifts on a full moon."

Chris peered at it and remarked, "Control was never one of Kate's strengths."

Derek looked at the hunter, knowing, "You knew she was alive, didn't you?"

Chris sighed, and answered honestly, "Not for certain. But I'd been searching ever since you handed me the shotgun shell."

"Should've made sure that psycho was really dead," Connor deadpanned. Gavin elbowed him.

Derek moved passed the awkward remarks and asked Chris, "What are you gonna do when you find her?"

Chris put the talisman down, "There's a place I can take her."

"You saying you have some kind of werewolf jail?" Derek asked, finding the idea funny.

"Something like that."

"She won't go quietly," Derek warned him.

"I don't expect her to," Chris answered. "And I'll do what's necessary."

Derek let out a sigh and asked, almost reluctantly, "What if I asked you not to?"

Connor gave him a look, "Why would you want that psycho alive?"

Derek regarded all of them, "She took something from me." His eyes glowed yellow. "At first, I just thought it was a part of my past. I started to lose something else. My sense of smell. I'm losing my power."

* * *

Beth chewed her lip nervously next to Georgie and Jessie in the bleachers as the scrimmage started in full gear. She noticed Mason sitting next to Violet at the other side of the bleachers and cringed in worry for Liam's best friend. She knew chances were that Mason was human and not on the list and so was in no danger. But you never could be too cautious in Beacon Hills.

The crowd on the other side cheered as Brett made a shot and put Devenford in the lead. But she immediately cringed when Brett – obviously targeting Liam – smashed into the shorter player on the relay of the ball and knocked him over.

Liam looked very angry, his shoulders pushing up and down as he panted and growled. Scott called his name to try and calm him down. And then Beth felt Jessie nudge her and gestured towards Liam. Beth called out, "Liam!" When she saw his head turn towards her, she said quieter, knowing he'd hear her, "Just breathe. You can do this."

After taking a few deeper breaths as she spoke to him, Liam calmed down, and didn't attack Brett like he wanted to. Scott and Stiles were relieved, and Jessie nudged Beth with a smile. "Good job."

"That was him," Beth said, blushing.

"You helped him," Georgie added.

The game commenced, and Stiles was able to distract the Devenford player – probably with his annoying talking – and swiped the ball from him, passing it to Kira. "Run Kira! Run, Kira, run!"

Kira did so, weaving around the other team's players, approaching the goal.

Coach called out from the sidelines, "Pass it! Kira, pass the ball!" But instead of passing it, Kira swung the stick and tossed the ball into the goal, making it. The crowd cheered for her, as well as her friends. And then Coach called her over. She skipped over, taking off her helmet, all smiles. But then he said, sternly, "Take a seat. You're benched for the rest of the game."

Kira frowned, "What? Why?"

Coach told her, "You didn't pass."

"I had an open shot," she argued.

But Coach was undeterred, "The play was for you to pass. This is a scrimmage, it's about teamwork, Yukimura. So, you're benched."

Reluctantly, Kira sat down. Scott and Jessie shared a look over the length of the field, worried without her in there to back him up and watch out for Liam and Garrett. It was only Scott and Stiles now.

* * *

The Sheriff spoke quickly and quietly as he led Lydia, Nuala, and Malia back to his office where Meredith was sitting. "I'm aware this is probably about the dead pool, but I can't let her leave the station. And, in a minute, I'm gonna have to call Eichen House and let them know that she's here."

"Give us an hour," Lydia requested.

He gave her a look, "You got 15 minutes," and waved her into the room, Malia and Nuala following.

Deputy Parrish approached and asked his boss, "You called Lydia?"

Sheriff Stilinski nodded shortly, "Yeah."

"Because Meredith asked for her or because of the other thing?" the young man asked, almost knowing.

Stilinski paused, wondering what he could mean, and asked, "What other thing?"

Deputy Parrish paused too, "The psychic thing."

That wasn't what he was expected to hear, "You think Lydia's psychic?"

"Do you?" his deputy responded.

Sheriff Stilinski frowned, "No, I do not. I think that she is, uh... Intuitive."

Parrish gave his boss a look, "That's what they used to call psychics. Intuitionists."

Finding himself at a loss of how to respond, his boss said, "Yeah, and I used to call myself a rational human being. Get in here and shut the door." Once they were all inside, he gestured at Lydia, "Ask what you need to ask."

Lydia stood in front of Meredith and handed the other girl her cell phone. She grasped it as she sat stone straight on the couch and remained silent. Lydia frowned, but tried to keep her tone light, "Meredith, aren't you going to answer it?"

Meredith looked up at her and moved with child-like mannerisms as she stood and whispered in Lydia's ear, "It's not ringing."

Lydia sighed. Stiles had told her that when Meredith used her powers to tell them where the Nogitsune was keeping her, she had a fake phone conversation. How else was it supposed to work now to get the answers they needed?

Meredith sat back down, setting the phone over on the couch. Lydia knelt down in front of her and spoke quietly, "Meredith, you came here to help us, remember?"

She nodded and said, "You called me."

Lydia frowned, "What do you mean I called you?"

"I heard you," Meredith whispered.

Malia and Nuala shared a look over their shoulders. What did she mean?

Parrish knelt next to Lydia, "Meredith, can I ask you a question?" Meredith looked like a scared doe, but also a little bashful as she nodded. "When you need help, when you need to find something, is there someone you reach out to? Maybe someone you call?"

"It depends. Different people for different things," she answered.

Deputy Parrish nodded and asked, "So maybe there's a number that can help us? Someone we can call."

Meredith nodded, now smiling, "Yes."

"Would you be okay telling us?" he asked as Lydia picked up her phone to dial it.

Meredith nodded again, rocking on the couch, "Yes. It's 2, 2, 2, 5, 6."

They waited for her to continue. Maybe she needed more time to remember the rest or get it from wherever banshees get their information. But when they saw Meredith smiling, like she was proud of herself for telling them, they realized that was all she had and were confused.

Malia pointed it out, "Mer, we need a few more numbers."

Meredith still smiled, "No. That's the number."

"Phone numbers are 10 digits," Nuala tried to tell the girl without attitude.

"That's the number."

Lydia sighed in frustration, "Meredith, phone numbers always have 10 digits."

Meredith now frowned, "That's the number."

Lydia stood, "Meredith..."

The Sheriff broke in then, "Lydia." He pulled her away, speaking softly, "I think that's the best we're gonna get."

But Lydia knew they needed more, "No. There has to be more." She stepped back up to Meredith and spoke louder, sterner, "What's the rest of it, Meredith? Hmm? Just concentrate!"

Meredith flinched away, starting to cry, "But that's... that's... that's the number."

Lydia cried, "Concentrate!"

"Lydia!" Nuala broke in, roughly pulling Lydia away and hissing at her so the others didn't hear. "You cannot scare her like that. You of all people know that what you hear isn't always as cut and dry as you think it is the first time around. It has to mean something."

Meredith was rocking more, "That's... That's the number. That's the number."

The Sheriff tried to calm her down, "It's okay, sweetheart."

But when he reached for her, she flinched and stood and yelled, "That's the number!"

* * *

The game was going well for the most part. Beth cheered with the other girls as Scott, and Stiles, and Liam played as well as they could with the added pressure of an assassin on the field. To add to it, Brett suddenly collided with Liam, and both boys wiped out on the grass. Beth and Jessie flinched at the sight and stood up with Georgie to stand by the bench and get a look at what was happening.

"Brett, you okay?"

Coach called out for people to, "Back off!"

Scott pulled Liam up from the ground and asked, "How hard did you hit him?"

Liam grunted, "I didn't." He showed him his arm, the broken bone threatening to protrude from his skin. "He hit me."

Stiles flinched, "Ow."

Scott took off his gloves and grasped Liam's arm, warning him, "Close your eyes."

Liam nodded and took a deep breath as he did so. But he still felt it when Scott twisted his bone back in place to heal, crying out. He opened his eyes again when they all heard Brett calling out in more pain.

"All right, Brett, we're gonna pick you up now."

Brett cried out as he got jostled while the men carried him off the field. Scott and Liam both stopped short when they heard the sound of a blade and Scott started checking Liam over, "Are you cut? Did Garret cut you?"

Liam assured him, "No, no. I'm okay." He hadn't felt anything other than Brett smashing into him, even now his arm was pretty much fine.

Scott looked confused, but still scared for his beta, "Then he missed."

Liam frowned, "What do you mean?"

"It's you, Liam. You're the one he's after," Scott explained.

"Shit," Jessie cursed, having listened to everything.

"What?" Beth asked, growing concerned at her sister's expression.

"Garrett isn't going for Scott," Jessie told him. "Somehow, he knows about Liam and is targeting him."

Beth gulped, even as Georgie grabbed her hand.

* * *

Lydia sniffed in frustration at a deputy desk as she stared at the written-out numbers. 2, 2, 2, 5, 6.

Malia tried to think of something to say to cheer her up but paused when she caught sight of the old rotary phone on the desk, and the dialing numbers. "Lydia, what if it's like Algebra?"

Lydia looked up at her, "What do you mean?"

Malia grabbed the phone and turned it towards her, "What if the numbers are actually letters?"

Lydia straightened up in excitement as she jotted down the corresponding possible letters attached to the numbers.

A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C, J, K, L, M, N, O.

"Oh, God..." she whispered to herself.

"What?" Nuala asked.

Lydia pressed the pen back down to the paper to circle the name she could see inside of the list of letters. B-A-A-K-O.

Quickly, she pulled out her lap top and the second part of the code, typing the name into the empty box for the second cypher key – BAAKO. The code instantly started detangling itself and converting into another list of names.

KATE ARGENT 12,000,000

NOSHIKO YUKIMURA 5,000,000

JOANNE MCLAUGHLIN 1,000,000

GEORGIE MORTEM 1,000,000

TOM HILL 1,000,000

BRETT TALBOT 1,000,000

RICHARD BENEFIELD 250,000

JACK MARSLAND 250,000

JOY WALDROP 250,000

CHERYL CALIX 250,000

JORDAN PARRISH 5,000,000

Nuala quickly snapped a photo of the list and sent it out to the group. Lydia and Malia were still frozen staring at the last name.

* * *

Liam approached the growing group at the benches consisting of Scott, Jessie, Beth, and Kira. "I talked to Coach. I'm out for the rest of the game. What are you gonna do?"

Scott shrugged, looking around, "I don't know. Something's still not right. We're missing something."

Stiles ran over with Georgie then, seeming extremely worried, "Guys. Lydia just broke another third of the list."

"Am I on it?" Liam asked.

At the same time, a worried Beth asked, "Is Liam on it?"

They both paused to look at each other, but Stiles quickly cut in, "No, but my girlfriend is. Like I said. Hense my overwhelming fear."

Georgie cut him off, grabbing his hand, and looked at the others, "But so is Brett."

* * *

In the locker room, Brett crawled along the floor away from an approaching and bloodthirsty Violet, feeling paralyzed with pain. She had already taken out the men who carried him off the field. He panted heavily as he neared the sinks, "What did you do to me?"

Violet smirked as she played with her wire necklace, "You were cut with a poisoned blade. It was laced with wolfsbane. It won't kill you." She snapped the wire with a sickening grin, "But this will."

"Why? Why are you doing this?" he grunted as she kicked at his back and held him down to the ground.

Violet taunted him, "Because you're worth a lot of money, Brett." She wrapped the cord around his neck and pulled. He choked in searing pain as the wire made his skin sizzle, burning into his skin.

* * *

Scott rushed into the locker room to save Brett, the others at his heels. But when he got there, Brett was gasping on the floor, but still had a head, and he didn't see anyone else in the locker room. He grunted when he felt the still-hot wire wrap around his neck.

Violet had a smug smile on her face as she pulled the wire taut on his neck, "He said we shouldn't try. But now I've got you. I got an Alpha."

She didn't expect Scott to get his fingers under the wire and easily pull it loose from his neck, turning to her with glowing red eyes. Violet frowned, finally feeling fear, as he snapped the wire away from his neck. She then felt impossibly cold fingers wrapping around her neck from behind and gasped for air when she saw Jessie's cobalt eyes as the vampire-grimm slammed her into the wall and knocked her unconscious.

Stiles and Georgie finally caught up and paused in the doorway when they saw the scene in front of them. Scott looked at Stiles, "I think you better call your Dad."


	8. The Orphans

"Dad, really. I'm okay," Scott was trying to reassure his father. But it was difficult when a worried Jessie wouldn't let go of his arm.

Or with his father beating himself up. "I should've been here. And I said I would be at the games."

"Well, I mean this was just a pre-season scrimmage. I didn't even tell you about it," Scott excused.

"But I promised your mom I'd be around, so she could pick up some double shifts at the hospital," Rafe added. "I should've been here."

Scott softened, knowing his dad was really trying, "You're here now."

Rafe nodded and turned to Jessie, "What about you, Miss Hansen, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Jessie shook her head with a friendly smile, "No. And you can call me Jessie, Rafe."

Deputy Parrish was escorting a cuffed Violet out of the locker room. She didn't seem as scared as she should have been. And her face took on a light smugness when she caught sight of his name tag. "Jordan Parrish?"

He wasn't impressed by her self-satisfied grin. "Deputy Parrish."

Rafe stopped the Sheriff as he passed them with an evidence bag of Violet's necklace. "Sheriff, what is that? Is that the weapon?"

Sheriff Stilinski showed it to him, "Yeah. It's a thermo-cut wire."

Rafe slipped into FBI mode and walked off after the deputy, "Parrish, hold up."

As he walked away, Liam and Beth approached them, and Scott asked them, "Where's Kira?"

Beth answered, "She took off. Stiles told her about Lydia cracking the second part of the Dead Pool. Her mom is on it."

"Everyone's on it," Liam answered.

"Not you," Jessie assured the new beta.

But Liam was still frowning, "Not yet. There's still another third, right?"

Scott didn't answer, and neither did Jessie. Their ears picked up Rafe talking to, or smoothly interrogating Violet. "Thermo-cut wire's... a very unusual weapon, Violet. Now, we've got a file at the bureau on something similar. Used in over a dozen murders."

Violet still sounded so smug as she spoke, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just go to school here."

But he didn't play along with her attitude, "Maybe we should call your parents then. Oh, no... That's right. You don't have any parents. That's why they call you The Orphans." He turned to the Sheriff, "We need to find her boyfriend, Garrett."

Sheriff agreed. "Coach, I'm gonna need both their locker numbers. And someone find me a set of bolt cutters."

* * *

Stiles, Derek, and Dechtire struggled to hold a thrashing Brett down onto Deaton's steel table as the vet tried to make a cut with a scalpel. He even started foaming yellow at the mouth.

"What the hell is happening to this kid?" Stiles exclaimed.

Deaton held the scalpel steady over the grunting werewolf. "He's been poisoned by a rare wolfsbane. I need to make an incision and you need to hold him as still as possible."

Stiles gave Derek a look, "Hey, Derek, how about a little werewolf strength?"

Derek's face hardened as he tried to get a better hold on Brett. "Yeah, I'm not the only one here with werewolf strength."

Deaton gave them a look, "If you can't hold him still, the incision might kill him."

Stiles gasped as Brett nearly threw him off, "Derek, he's slipping. I don't think I can hold him." Both men jumped away when Brett's eyes glowed bright yellow and he threw them off, claws out. Georgie was able to stop Stiles from colliding with the steel tables behind him.

Brett snarled and made to run off, but Peter was inexplicably there. The former Alpha, with his glowing blue eyes, punched Brett right in the head. He fell to the ground, instantly unconscious.

Derek and Dechtire stared without humor at the man. Georgie had instantly stepped behind Stiles, clutching his arm at Peter's sudden appearance.

"I guess I still have a little werewolf strength myself."

Derek stared at him, "Yeah, maybe more than a little," looking down to see that Brett had managed to scratch him, and they weren't healing like they should be.

Stiles crouched down by Brett, "Hey, Doc, I don't think he's breathing." Deaton joined him. "Is he okay?"

The druid nodded, "I think he'll be fine, but probably out for a while."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, until Stiles could hear someone muttering, and looked to see Brett's lips moving, "Guys, can you hear that? I think he's saying something."

Brett was breathing sparsely, muttering very quietly, "The sun... The moon... The truth... The sun... The moon... The truth..."

Deaton sat up, "Three things cannot long be hidden. The sun, the moon, and the truth. It's Buddhist."

Derek eyed his Uncle, they both knew exactly who they were dealing with. "Satomi."

* * *

Jessie was just walking out of Scott's bathroom, running a towel through her wet hair. Scott was sitting at the foot of his bed, face forlorn. When she trained her ears, she could hear Melissa in the kitchen downstairs, on the phone.

"I know that I'm a month late... Three months? Oh... Are you sure it's three months?... Okay, I understand. Um, but if you could just turn the power back on even for a few hours, that would be really great. I have a refrigerator full of food that's going to go bad. And, obviously, I don't have the money to run out and replace $300 worth of groceries. So... I am more than happy to beg."

Jessie took a seat with Scott and took his hand, both of them thinking about the duffel bag full of money they found in Garrett's gym locker. It would solve all of the McCall's money problems. Jessie laid her head on his shoulder, "I wouldn't judge you either way. No one would blame you. It's not like Peter deserves to have it back. If it's all his. It's your decision. And I love you."

Scott gave her a grateful expression, kissing her forehead, right on her scar. "I love you too."

Downstairs, Gavin was sitting at the kitchen table with a frown as his frustrated girlfriend hung up her phone, looking every bit disheartened. "I wish you would let me help out with all of this."

Melissa gave him a look from the counter, "You know I'm not comfortable with that. You have your own expenses. Your apartment, your own power bill. I can't imagine the cemetery is a lucrative business."

"No, but we have family money," he answered, standing to walk over to her. "And I have savings and my pension from when I was an officer in Berlin. I can help."

"I'm still not comfortable with that," Melissa whispered, almost reluctantly. She was in dire need for some kind of help to fall out of the sky. But she didn't want to take her boyfriend's money.

"What if..." Gavin started speaking hesitantly, nervously, "what if I lived here? We'd combine expenses."

Melissa gaped at him, "What? You want to move in?"

Gavin grinned, "I was going to bring it up the other week. But then Sean showed up and everything got crazy."

Melissa's mouth had yet to close. "You're serious..."

He nodded, finding her expression cute. "I love you. I want you in my life. Scott, too. Is that so bad?"

Melissa felt like a school girl as she blushed and said, "I love you too," as he brought her in close and kissed him.

* * *

Liam was really trying to focus on keeping his heartbeat calm and steady, even as he ran alongside his best friend. He was trying to keep calm, not overdo it. But the pace Mason was going was starting to feel slow. Mason's talking was only serving to distract him.

"It's not just that we were friends with them. They were using us for their cover. I mean, professional killers were using us. How are you not freaking out about that?"

Liam panted as he unconsciously sped up with his running. "Trust me, I'm freaking out about a lot."

Mason called from behind him as he started disappearing down the trail. "Liam, slow down. Liam! Hey, Liam."

Liam didn't realize how far he'd gotten until he stopped, holding himself up on his knees. He wanted to go back in time and not go against Scott and Stiles at tryouts. Not break his leg. Not get taken by Sean to the roof. Not get bitten.

But he had to admit he liked the extra boost that came with the bite. He felt stronger, faster. He had this big support group with Scott and the others. He didn't think he'd ever have talked to Beth if he hadn't been bitten.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when an SUV came barreling down the dirt road and hit him head on. He was supine on the ground as the driver waltzed out of the car. It was, of course, a smirking Garrett, looking every bit the psychopath he was. "Hey, Liam. Sorry about missing movie night. Don't worry. I got something else planned."

* * *

Malia would take any excuse to ditch math class. Especially when it seemed that Stiles, Georgie, Nuala, Kira, and Lydia couldn't be bothered to show up. But she didn't expect her reason to leave class would be a lurking Derek Hale. "What are you doing here?"

Derek stepped down the steps to meet up with her. "Brett's still out of it. I need to find his pack and warn them about the Dead Pool."

Malia frowned, still not understanding, "So, what do you need me for?"

Derek didn't want to tell her that he needed her senses. He was slowly losing his. His scratches from Brett had healed, faster than a human, but still way too slow for him. And he knew he probably had no chance of finding Satomi or her pack without Malia's help. "I know a little something about this pack. They have a kind of secret meeting place in the woods. No one's spent more time in the woods of Beacon Hills than you." He held up Brett's jersey and tossed it to her. "This is Brett's. Breathe it in."

Malia handled it distastefully, looking insecure, "I'm not good at that yet."

"Try it," he plead confidently. "I'll teach you. Focus on the different scents. Some are tied to identity. Others give off an emotion."

* * *

"So, your dad's deputy is on a supernatural deadpool, but as far as we know, he's totally normal?" Georgie asked she, Stiles, and Lydia made their way to the police station.

"Pretty much," Lydia said as they parked. "That's not our biggest concern. We need him to help us get the third cypher key."

"Right," Georgie said, taking Stiles hand and following him inside the talk to the Deputy.

Parrish kept professional as he met with them and walked them into the Sheriff's office. "Your dad should be back within the hour. You want to wait in his office?"

Stiles squinted as he awkwardly told the Deputy, "Actually, we want to talk to you."

Lydia added, "Privately."

As Parrish closed the door, Georgie watched quizzically. She felt like she already knew the Deputy on some level, somehow. He felt so familiar to her, but she had no idea why or how. But she kept quiet as Lydia showed him the second part of the deadpool, folded so he didn't immediately see his name at the end.

Deputy Parrish peered at it after they explained it, "This is a hit list?"

"We call it a Dead Pool," Stiles corrected him. "Recognize any of the names?"

He nodded, "Yeah. The Sheriff had me run a bunch of these through the system last night. But we couldn't find any of them."

Stiles gave Lydia a look, "Show him the other thing."

Parrish's eyes widened as he saw his name once Lydia flipped the list around. "Okay. That's kind of terrifying. What's the number?"

"That's how much you're worth," Georgie explained to him.

He balked, "I'm worth five dollars?"

Stiles held out his hand, all five fingers spread, "Five million."

This didn't serve to quell the disbelief on Parrish's face, "I only make 40,000 a year. Maybe I should kill myself."

Without thinking, Georgie reached out and smacked his arm, "That's not funny."

Frowning in confusion at the reaction of this teenage girl he'd only seen around the office, Parrish moved on, "I don't get it. Why... Why am I on this?"

Stiles shrugged it all off, "Honestly, that might be a question for another day. Right now, there's still another third of the list we gotta crack."

Lydia nodded along, "We need the third cipher key. But we need help getting it."

Deputy Parrish looked between the three of them, "From who?"

Lydia grimaced as she admitted, "Meredith."

"The girl from Eichen?" Parrish said, going to the door and closing it fully. "The last time you saw her, you almost gave her a nervous breakdown."

Lydia shrank a bit under Stiles and Georgie's looks. "Uh... Almost."

* * *

Beth was at her locker, chewing her lip. She had to walk her parents through the deadpool and the fact that Jessie's name was on it. She tried to assure them there was no way she would be on it, but she wouldn't back down from being involved. With the way their jobs were, neither Hunter nor Paula could get as involved as they wanted. And Paula was worried that with the hospital always being a hot spot for supernatural attacks, that Hunter would be in danger. Now in a wheelchair, there wasn't much he could do to protect himself. But Beth assured them that Melissa knew what to do to hold things off until someone who could help arrived.

"Hey, Beth?"

Mason's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She whipped her head to see him standing impossibly close for her not to have noticed him approaching, "Oh, hi Mason. What's up?"

"You haven't seen Liam, have you?" the boy asked. "We went on a run this morning and he ran off, really fast, and I lost track of him. Haven't seen him since."

Beth frowned. It didn't sound alarming. Jessie had told her that Scott couldn't control how fast he went at first. Neither could she. But to not see Liam the rest of the morning. That sounded odd. "Oh, no, I haven't seen him. I could call him?" She flinched at the lame response. "Sorry, I'm sure you've already tried that."

"No, it's okay," Mason said. "You can try. If he ignores your call, then I'd say he's in trouble."

With reddened cheeks, Beth pulled out her phone and dialed Liam's number. It only rang out. "Well, it's still on. Maybe he's with Scott? Or practicing out on the field? Let's find Scott."

Mason nodded along and followed her towards where she knew Scott's locker was. They rounded a corner and practically collided with Scott and Jessie. "Beth?"

"Hey, we can't find or get a hold of Liam," Beth said through her teeth, trying to signal that she thought something was really wrong without tipping Mason off. "Have you seen him?"

Scott sensed her worry and immediately pulled out his phone to send Liam a text. "No, I haven't seen him. Have you called him?"

"He's not answering either of us," Mason chimed in. "And I haven't seen him in class yet."

"Doesn't he have econ?" Jessie questioned. "Let's talk to Coach."

The three others followed her to Coach's office and found the man collapsed over his desk, chugging cough medicine. "Sorry, guys, Liam skipped my class. Maybe he's sick. Like me."

Mason gave Scott a look, "Liam didn't look sick on our run."

Scott looked at his phone with a grim look, "He's not getting back to any of my texts."

Mason shook his head, "Mine either. And when Beth called, it just rang out. Trust me, he's got a huge crush on her, he wouldn't ignore her call."

Jessie almost grinned at the blush on Beth's cheeks. But now wasn't the time to tease her sister on a cute budding relationship.

Scott tried to make Mason feel better as the next round of classes were about to start. "Yeah, don't worry. I'll find him. But text me if you see him."

Mason nodded, "All right," and walked off, still looking very worried.

Scott stopped when his phone started ringing and he saw Liam's name. He instantly answered it and started walking to a deserted part of the school. "Liam?"

Garrett's chilling and smug voice answered him. "Sounds like you already know the answer to that, Scott."

Scott glowered at the floor, "Where is he?"

"Come on. Like I'm actually going to tell you that?"

Scott frowned, clenching his teeth, "I'll give you the money."

Garrett chuckled, "Yeah, you will. But that's not going to get you Liam back. You're going to have to put in a little more effort than that."

Scott shared a look with Jessie. What could he mean? "What do you want?"

"I want the money. And Violet. Or you never see Liam again."


	9. Beserkers

Jessie was almost vibrating with anger as she followed Scott to the busses where he was meeting Garret. "I think you should let me kill him."

"No," Scott told her patiently. He didn't take her death threats seriously anymore. But he knew that if it came down to it, she would kill whoever threatened him or others she cared about if that was her only choice.

Jessie sighed as she stopped on the other side of the bus, leaning against it. "He's waiting for you."

He gave her a nod and walked around the bus to confront Garrett, "Okay, what do you want? You want me to go to Stilinski? I can do that. Or I can talk to my father. He's an FBI agent."

Garrett scoffed at him, "You think I want you talking to anyone with a badge? I'm not getting help from a werewolf because I want him to talk to someone."

Scott frowned, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

Garrett clenched his jaw seriously, but still managed to look like a cocky son of a bitch, "They are transferring Violet to a federal facility. You are not gonna let that happen."

"How?"

"They're going to put her in a car," Garret explained. "We're going to follow it. We get ahead of it. You stop it."

Scott gaped at him incredulously, "You want me to attack a car? That's your plan?"

Garrett didn't accept his reluctance. "You're an Alpha. If you can't stop one little car, then one little Beta is going to die." He gave Scott a grin, "Stabbed your boy with a blade dipped in wolfsbane. Once it gets to the heart... Bad things happen."

When Scott rounded back around the buss, Jessie pulled him over to her quickly. "You cannot let Garrett and Violet just get away."

"I know," he sighed. "But Liam is somewhere lost in the woods dying. I need to get him back."

"I know," Jessie said. "Do what you need to do. I'll go out tonight and try to find him. See if I can get a feeling. Or call Georgie and see if she can do a tracking spell. She and Stiles and Lydia are going into Eichen though, so I won't get in touch with her probably. Just..." she sighed, "be careful, Scott. Even if you give him the bag of money and hand over Violet – you're still worth 25 million. They might not let you walk away without a fight."

"I'll be careful, I promise," he swore to her, cupping her cheek. "I love you."

She pressed her lips to his, "I love you."

* * *

Derek felt odd driving his cousin he didn't know existed into the woods to look for Satomi. Especially when Malia still had no idea that they were related. But that could all be saved for later. Now, they had to focus.

"Their Alpha is a woman named Satomi. She's one of the oldest werewolves alive. And she's learned a lot."

Malia followed him out of the car, "What does that mean?"

Derek explained to her, "She's a bitten werewolf. Learning control wasn't easy for her. She did something a long time ago that changed her," referring to the riot Satomi had started when she set Noshiko's beau, Rhys, on fire at the internment camp in Oak Creek. They walked through the woods for a bit when Malia suddenly stopped. Derek peered at her, "What is it?"

Malia sniffed the air, "Gun powder."

Derek looked around, finding the hollow shell of a bullet on the ground. He bent over to pick it up. "If Brett's pack is out here, I don't think they're meeting. They're hiding."

* * *

Beth felt her feet hurting as she hiked through the woods with her sister. "Where are we meeting these friends of yours?"

"Somewhere safe," Jessie answered. "And they'll help us find Liam. Cover more ground."

Beth's eyes widened when Jessie suddenly covered her ears with her hands and started jogging off. She followed as best as she could until they stopped in a small clearing, where a mini-emitter was stamped in the earth. Jessie kept her ears covered and called out, "McGarretty, I will kick your ass!"

Beth started when she heard someone laughing and noticed a man she vaguely recognized walking out from behind a tree. He had dark hair and light eyes with stubble on his pale features. With a grin, he reached down to turn off the emitter. "Okay, laddies, let's go!"

More people came out of the trees. She recognized one as Scott's mom's boyfriend, Gavin. And then she knew Dechtire and Nuala. Beth chewed her lips, "Is everyone on the same page? We need to find Liam before the wolfsbane Garrett stabbed him with kills him."

"Any ideas what that psycho would put Liam in?" Nuala asked. "Are we sure he's in the woods?"

"I have a feeling," Jessie said as way of explanation. "And Garrett got to him near this trail when he and Mason were out running. Let's go."

Connor cut in with a grin, eyeing Beth, "Aren't you going to introduce us, love?"

Jessie rolled her eyes at him, "Fine. Beth, this is Connor. His family are protectors of people like me, he's assigned to me. This is Gavin, his brother, who also is dating Melissa. Their mom is a super powerful psychic. You know Dechtire and Nuala."

Beth awkwardly waved, "Nice to meet everyone and all – but we need to hurry and find Liam."

* * *

Lydia drove her, Stiles and Georgie separately to Eichen, following the deputy's cruiser. Stiles looked up at Georgie from the backseat and asked with a sly smile, "Georgie – love of my life – what was that with Parrish earlier?"

Confused, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"How you chastised him for joking about killing himself for a cool 5 million," Stiles responded. "It seemed a little familiar for just meeting the guy."

Georgie shrugged, slouching in her seat, "He seems familiar. Like I already know him, but I'm sure we've never really met before."

"Okay..." Stiles said slowly. "I don't understand."

"I don't get it either," Lydia added in.

"I don't either," Georgie said. "It's not like you and me. Unum, it's like unum adjacent, like family. Maybe it has something to do with whatever kind of supernatural creature he is. Maybe he's like me and just never knew it. Maybe he's from a magic family and never got powers. I don't know. All I know is that we can't let anything bad happen to him. But that applies to anyone on the list."

"Agreed," Lydia said as they arrived. "Let's get this over with."

Parrish was able to walk the three teens through Eichen easily enough. And get an orderly to agree to let them talk to Meredith. It had all gone so smoothly. Until Stiles worse annoyance appeared.

Stiles muttered under his breath, "Oh, no, not this guy."

Brunski looked angry as he stormed over, glaring down the orderly helping them, "What the hell are we running here? A bed and breakfast? We do not just open the door for anyone with a badge."

Deputy Parrish chimed in, "We need to talk to Meredith Walker. It involves a murder investigation."

Brunski gave him a look, "Well, you can talk to her all you want, but these three, especially that one..." he gestured to Stiles, "They're outta here."

"They're crucial witnesses in an ongoing investigation. I wouldn't have brought them here if it wasn't absolutely..." Parrish searched for the right word, "...crucial." That was all he could come up with.

Brunski didn't look impressed with his reasoning. "Okay, Deputy. How about you come back with a court order? Then I'll listen." He then turned to Stiles, getting right into his face, "As for you, Mr. Stilinski, how about you come back with payment in full?" The ugly mug smirked at Stiles' frown, "That's right. Daddy may be the Sheriff, but he's late on the bills. I guess those government jobs aren't as reliable as they used to be, huh?"

Stiles wanted to punch him right in the face. And Georgie felt her fists heating up. Lydia's eyes widened when she even noticed some smoke or steam coming off of the witch's skin. But Parrish's voice cut in to defuse the situation, "But they do help when you need a favor. Like, how a month ago, Canaan P.D. helped you get home after blowing 0.1 on a breathalyzer."

Stiles tried to smother his shit eating grin at the news, since Brunski definitely looked embarrassed. "No..."

Brunski adopted a strained grin, "All right. I'm not against a little quid pro quo. Not at all. Not at all." He dropped the keys in Stiles hands and stalked off, definitely not happy.

Stiles grinned to Parrish as he handed the deputy the keys, "You. You, I like you. I'm gonna keep you."

Georgie just shyly smiled as the Deputy opened the door to reveal Meredith sitting up on her bed, as if she was waiting for them.

* * *

Scott felt like bursting out of his skin in the passenger's seat of Garrett's SUV as they waited for the transport vehicle to pass them. He tried to talk his dad out of moving her tonight, but the man wouldn't listen, and even revealed that the Sheriff would be coming too. That all only seemed to worry Scott even more. "This is not going to work."

Garrett looked over at this, "All you have to do is stop the car. I'll take care of the rest."

After another minute, the transport vehicle finally passed them on the not very well-lit road and Garrett sped after them to follow.

"There's a stop sign half a mile ahead."

"So, I take out the tires with my claws?" Scott asked.

Garrett grit his teeth and snarled at him, "Teeth, claws, heat vision, whatever. Just stop them. You ready?"

Scott glared at the assassin next to him but nodded. But when he turned back to the road, he saw the car overturned. Fear clutched at his heart as he yelled, "Stop! Stop the car!" When the SUV screeched to a halt, he raced out onto the road towards the car where the Sheriff was dragging his unconscious father away from the crash scene. But he looked pretty injured as well. "Dad!"

Stilinski grunted, "Scott..."

Scott looked around, after listening for his father's heartbeat. He peered in the car and saw no one. He couldn't see Violet anywhere. So, he shouted to Garrett who had stalked out of the car, "She's not in the car. Violet's gone."

"Scott, listen to me," Stilinski wheezed from the ground. "They're still here. They're still here..."

Scott stopped cold when he heard familiar growling. Garrett had grabbed his lacrosse stick and took off the end, clicking a small button so the blade came out. Scott reared up when a beserker came out of the shadows. But Garrett, unwisely, wasn't scared. "You want me? Come on! Come and get me!"

And he watched as a smug Garrett tried to fight another one off with his blade. "You're not so big!" The beserker only too easily overpowered him and stabbed him.

"Scott!"

* * *

Lydia was completely taken aback when Meredith said that she couldn't tell them the last cypher key. "Meredith, what you mean you can't tell us?"

"We just need the third key," Stiles added.

"It doesn't matter how you tell us," Georgie assured the girl. "Numbers, letters, hieroglyphs. Whatever you want."

Meredith frowned like she was pained and said, "I can't."

Lydia pursed her lips, "Then why did you give us the second key?"

Meredith rocked, voice meek, "I wanted to help. That's what I want to do. I want to help."

"Great," Lydia tried to sound encouraging. "So, help us now. Okay? Give us the third cipher key."

Meredith whined, "Things have changed. I... I can't."

Georgie frowned, "What has changed, Mer?"

Meredith looked close to tears, "I'm sorry. I can't. He... He doesn't want me to."

"He?" Stiles questioned. "Who's he?"

Lydia urged her, desperate, "Meredith, who doesn't want you to tell us the third cipher key?"

Meredith stared at them, seeming full of fear, "The Benefactor."

Lydia reared up at the word, and insisted on knowing, "What's his name? You could just tell us his name."

Meredith shook her head rapidly.

"Okay, you're shaking your head," Stiles observed. "What's that mean? Does that mean you don't know? Or you don't want to help us?"

"I can't... I can't help anymore," Meredith muttered.

"How do you know about him?" Georgie asked. "Is he a friend of yours?"

Deputy Parrish noticed how Meredith started rocking a bit and warned, "Guys, I think we better stop."

But Lydia wasn't done. They desperately needed the third key. "Meredith, a lot of people are going to die if you don't tell us."

Meredith kept muttering, "I don't... I don't know. I don't know."

"It's okay, Mer," Georgie tried to comfort the poor girl. "We're the good guys, remember? If you're afraid of this guy, we won't let him hurt you."

"You're gonna be all right. Please," Lydia added.

But still, Meredith was murmuring, "I don't... I don't... I don't know."

"Meredith..." Parrish started approaching to step in.

But Meredith snapped. She stood and screamed, "I said, I don't know!" echoing across the room. It was almost as if the scream slammed into Lydia, pushing her into Georgie who just barely caught her. Lydia clutched her head in pain, like a sonic sound was piercing her ears. And when Georige checked on her after things went quiet again, she stared in horror at the blood coming out of Lydia's ears.

* * *

Scott grunted as he woke up somewhere completely unfamiliar for a frightening sixty seconds. And he had no idea what happened after the beserker killed Garrett. But then he heard Deaton's voice, "Hey, there. I was actually hoping you would be out for a few more minutes."

Scott's eyes bugged when he looked down and saw a knife with a bone hilt sticking out of his side. Then he heard Chris' voice, "Scott," and looked over to see the hunter on his other side. "This is going to hurt."

And then Scott yelled as Deaton curled his hand around the blade and pulled it out.

"You all right?" Chris asked as Deaton sat him up and worked on his wound.

The rest of the night started coming back to him and Scott asked, "Where's my dad and the Sheriff?"

Deaton assured him quickly, "They're at the hospital. They're both doing fine."

Scott grunted in pain still, "It was Kate. It was her and the Berserkers."

Chris nodded grimly, "We know. But they move fast. And they don't leave much in the way of tracks."

Scott panted a little as he spoke urgently, "We have to find her. She's got Violet. I think Violet knows where Liam is."

"Then as much as this hurt," Deaton said, holding up the bone blade he'd just pulled from Scott's body, "it could probably also help."

* * *

Malia sighed as she and Derek got back into the car, "I'm sorry."

But Derek assured her, "There's nothing to be sorry about. If they don't want to be found, then we're not going to find them. Some werewolves have an ability. A kind of mastery over their bodies where they can actually inhibit their scent."

Malia hadn't heard of anything like that before. It almost didn't make sense to her. "They can hide from other werewolves?"

Derek nodded. "From anyone who's trying to find them."

"So, that's why nobody knew about Brett," Malia guessed. They'd all thought Liam was Garret's target during the game. They had no idea that Brett was even like them until he was attacked.

"Same with Demarco," Derek confirmed.

Malia tried to think of something else. If they couldn't catch a scent to track them, they couldn't find them and warn them about what was going on. Then something occurred to her. Maybe they shouldn't be thinking like supernaturals. "Maybe we need to try something different. Maybe we need to think like Stiles."

Derek rose his eyebrow at her, "Like a hyperactive spaz?"

Malia rolled her eyes, "Like a detective. If they're really Buddhists, then maybe instead of asking where werewolves hide, we should be asking..."

"Where would Buddhists hide..." he finished for her. He caught sight of his car's compass for off-roading and stared at the 'E'. "When Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree, he looked to the east for enlightenment."

"Is there some kind of eastern point in Beacon Hills?" Malia asked.

"Yeah. At Lookout Point."


	10. Save Liam

Beth huffed, getting tired the later it got and there was no sign of Liam anywhere. Dechtire and Nuala had gone East, to see if Garrett had Liam over a cliff or something. Gavin and Connor had gone South and determined to see if Garrett was keeping Liam somewhere in the city. Jessie and she were hiking West, hoping that Jessie's 'feelings' kicked in at some point and she just knew where Liam was.

"Garrett told Scott that he stabbed Liam, didn't he?" Beth asked, growing more fearful for the young boy. "With wolfsbane?"

Jessie sighed as she answered, "Yeah. We don't know how much or how long it'll take to kill him. But we can't waste time."

"I always feel like my contribution is just wasting time," Beth admitted sadly. "I'm not like you and Scott, or even Lydia. I can't fight off evil Alphas or chase demonic ninjas. I'm just human, walking around and asking endless questions."

"Beth," Jessie cut in, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder and stopping her. "You are not a waste of time. I mean, look at Stiles. He's human, and most of the time he comes up with the plan that saves all of our assess. And don't forget, you're the one who figured out who Garrett and Violet really were. Who knows how bad last night could have been if we had no idea what Garrett and Violet were doing? You did that. You figured that out from just a couple of seemingly random observations."

"That doesn't help me when it comes to a fight," Beth muttered. "I don't have claws or super strength."

"So?" Jessie asked her. "So, what? All Stiles has is a bat."

Beth giggled at that.

"Beth, even considering what you went through last year," Jessie said, "you're still relatively new to all of this. You'll find your niche, you'll learn to hold your own. And you have all of us to watch your back and make sure some monster doesn't hurt you."

Beth gave her a small smile, "Thank you."

"Besides," Jessie switched lanes, "you will probably be Liam's best hope on getting handle on being a werewolf quickly."

"Me?" Beth questioned, thrown off by that sentiment. "Not Scott? You know, his Alpha?"

"Scott is going to be instrumental in teaching him and showing him how it all works and feels," Jessie agreed. "But even then, every werewolf needs an anchor. And," she stopped to send Beth a teasing smile, "we all know Liam has a big crush on you."

"Shut up!" Beth complained with a blush as they hike through the woods. "Do you have an anchor?"

"Yes," Jessie answered readily.

"Is it Scott?"

Jessie slightly paused and would have slipped if becoming a vampire hadn't given her extra grace, and still answered honestly, "Yes. Not only him. I think about you and Baako too. But back when I first turned, it was Scott that got me to calm down the most."

"Are you his anchor?" Beth asked.

Slowly, Jessie shrugged, "I don't know. It used to be Allison, but then they broke up. I think I asked him when I still had my emotions locked out. And he said he thought about his friends. But I always felt that he meant to say something else."

"Maybe you are his anchor, and he didn't want to confess it yet," Beth suggested.

"Back to topic," Jessie slightly rose her voice, "you are important, and you can help. And you can start with Liam."

Beth looked around, the mention of Liam worrying her. "We have to find him first."

"We will."

* * *

Liam was freezing, and everything hurt, especially the bleeding wound in his abdomen. The well he was stuck in seemed endless, but he stilled tried to scale to the top. To freedom. He dug his fingertips into each crevice of the bricks of the well, climbing desperately for the small opening of the night sky directly above him. He could just see the moonlight through the wooden planks at the top when his grip slipped, and he tumbled down and landed in the ice-cold water. "Come on!" he screamed as he splashed in the water.

He fought desperately for the strength to get out of there. He was a werewolf now. He hadn't realized what that meant until right after he changed at the lake house and Scott took him back to the boathouse to show him the broken window he'd escaped through.

"You did that. You went right through it."

Liam had been shocked to see the broken shards of glass and the gaping hole where a window used to be. "I jumped through the window?"

Scott had nodded and watched as he gazed at his wound-free arms. "The cuts healed while you were changing."

"I guess that's one good thing."

"For you," Scott had agreed cautiously. "For someone else it could be really bad. We need to figure out how you can get a grip on this."

Liam had sighed. He really had been a ticking time bomb for a long time. He couldn't control himself as a human. He didn't know how he was going to do it as a werewolf that could kill someone with one blow. "I've been trying to do that for years."

"What does your dad say?"

Liam had gazed out the window at the waning moon as he answered his Alpha, letting the gravity of his new normal set in, "He says when kids get angry, they deal with it in one of two ways. They either hurt themselves or they hurt someone else."

Now Liam looked up at the moon in the distance again, more determined to save himself and get the hell out of this well.

* * *

Derek and Malia stepped onto the edge of the cliff at lookout point and searched for any sign of Satomi's pack. Derek was startled when Malia's face turned sour and pointed to a direction slightly behind him. "Malia?"

"You don't smell that?" she asked with a grimace.

Derek followed the direction she was looking and told her, "Wait for me. Right here," before tentatively walking through the trees, looking for what could smell that bad to her. And what he found was possibly the worst-case scenario. It must have been a dozen bodies strewn about the forest floors in various positions of pain and strife. Their veins stuck out of their skin, looking dark under their skin. And blood was dripping out of their noses, mouths, ears, and even eyes.

"Grizzly, isn't it?" Dechtire's voice startled Derek. Which, again, shouldn't have been possible.

He looked up to see the hunter and her younger sister and asked, "How did you find them?" as Malia got curious and wandered over.

Nuala shrugged, "We've been wandering around looking for Liam. Garrett's got him cooped up somewhere. Jessie and the McGarrety brothers are out too."

Malia looked at the pile of dead bodies at their feet, "What happened?"

"We think poison," Dechtire said, matter-of-fact.

"That's great," Malia growled, but there was a fear in her voice. "If assassins with guns don't get you, then the ones with wolfsbane poison will. Or maybe one with no mouth. Maybe we should all be running from Beacon Hills. Running for our lives. As fast as we can."

Derek stood to leave with her, but a noise made all four of them stop short. Derek and Dechtire shared a cautious expression before walking out further through the trees where they hear the definite sounds of a woman whimpering. When they see the figure of a woman, arm reaching out, and still alive, Derek and Dechtire speed over to see that it's Braeden, injured and near unconsciousness.

* * *

Scott didn't understand how Chris knew where they were going once he locked in on the beserkers scent and gave him directions. Until the Argent hunter told him their family used to own the old warehouse they ended up in. He was dreading facing Kate after their many run ins. Especially now that Kate had a supernatural edge. If she didn't have their precious hunter code to live by, or just a general drive to hunt supernaturals now that she was one, they couldn't begin to guess at her general motives or what she would do.

When the two men entered the warehouse, shadows played like monsters. Scott kept his eyes wide open and Chris kept his large gun cocked and ready.

Kate's voice suddenly echoed, "You shouldn't have come."

Scott peered forward and could see the large shadow of Kate through some hanging opaque tarp. "Kate. I'm here for Violet. I need to talk to her."

"I knew you'd find me," Kate almost seemed smug. "But... I was hoping we could do this later. I just needed a little more time."

"For what?" Chris asked, keeping his trigger finger ready.

"To learn control," Kate's ominous voice and shadow still loomed over them both. "Lower the gun. We walk away. And you don't have to get hurt."

Scott asked again, getting desperate, "Where's Violet?"

Kate finally appeared through the tarp, two of her beserkers flanking her, face morphed in the blue and black jaguar beast that she was now. "Put the gun down, Chris."

"Where is she?" Scott asked again. But when Kate got too close with her cronies for Chris' liking, he let bullets spray from his gun, aiming right for the beserkers. "No, no!" Scott tried to talk Chris down. He knew bullets wouldn't do anything to these monsters. And he still needed Kate, to get to Violet, to get to Liam. "No, no, stop! No!"

But Chris didn't listen until he ran out of bullets. When he went to change the clip, Kate got a hold of his gun and ripped it out of his hands, clamping a clawed hand around her brother's throat. Scott rushed to help, but he was soon occupied by the beserkers. He dodged their swipes with their knives and tried to swipe back at them. But they were ultimately stronger and larger and more brutal than he could be.

Once got a good hold on his back and tossed him into a wall with so much strength that he broke through the wall and landed inside a smaller room behind it. He had a moment respite to look around and see a sight that made his heart drop. It was Violet, eyes frozen open and guts almost spilling out of her blood-soaked shirt, body tied to a chair. She was dead. Might have been killed as soon as Kate got her hands on her. His last shot at getting to Liam was dead.

When he heard Chris crying out in pain, Scott shook off his emotions – he couldn't give up yet – and dove back into the main room. He was able to distract at least one of the beserkers. But there were too many. One was still on Chris, knocking the man down and holding him onto some steel table, raising its blade in the air, poised to strike.

But Kate's voice rang out when she saw the scene, "No!" and her beserkers froze. She raced over to her brother and knocked the beserker away from him, racing out of the room, for them to follow her.

Scott rushed to Chris to help him up. The hunter favored a few bruised ribs as he told the younger man, "Scott... Scott. I'm sorry."

Scott frowned, feeling every bit the failure, he must have been. "I'm not going to find him."

Chris tried to encourage him not to give up hope, "There's still time, Scott. There's still time."

* * *

Liam was digging his fingernails into the brick, stretching his feet to stay up. He was so close to the top, but he felt so tired, and the pain of his wound was radiating throughout the rest of his body. He could see the moon through the hole in the wooden planks above him and hoped that at least something he thought about what he was now, was true.

Summoning the last of his strength, he let his eyes start glowing bright yellow and opened his mouth wide to let out the loudest roar he could possibly push out of his lungs.

It rang through the night, through the trees, through Beacon Hills – to all with ears that could hear it. Even back at the warehouse, Scott suddenly looked away from Chris, his eyes red, as he heard his beta crying out for help, and to be found. And now, he could find him.

Miles away, Jessie suddenly stopped in the middle of the trail with Beth and felt her eyes automatically glowing bright cobalt, acting like flashlights through the dark woods.

"What is it, Jessie?" Beth asked, still not up to speed with the many reasons a supernatural's eyes could start glowing.

"We need to get to the car now," Jessie urged her sister backwards. "I can hear Liam. We can find him."

Beth had never run faster.

* * *

Stiles was pacing back and forth in his room in front of his evidence board, trying to figure out what their next step could be. "Okay, well, we know one thing. Both of the first two keys, Allison and Baako, they're both names of the dead. Right?"

Lydia sat at his desk with her lap top and Georgie standing behind her with a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I told you, Nuala already suggested that, and we've already tried every other dead person's name we could think of. And if you haven't noticed, there were a lot of tries."

"Yeah, I noticed," Stiles muttered, staring at his board.

Georgie noticed Lydia starting to look exhausted and forlorn, and asked, "You okay?"

Lydia licked her lips and sighed, staring at her screen that was still coded, "The only other Banshee I've ever met. And I think I might have just drove her over the edge."

"Lydia, Meredith is not on you," Georgie tried to comfort her friend, wrapping her arms around her shoulders from behind. "Meredith has had deep issues for a long time. And who knows, you probably aren't the only banshee."

Stiles perked at his girlfriend's words, "Hold on. Banshees predict death. Right?"

Georgie stepped away from Lydia to face Stiles and nodded, "Right."

He looked between her and Lydia, "So, what if the third key is someone who isn't dead..."

"But will be..." Lydia finished for him in a whisper. He and Georgie could recognize the spark of banshee inspiration inside of Lydia as she closed her eyes and hovered her fingers over the keys of her laptop computer. Stiles and Georgie hovered over her shoulders as she slowly typed out, letter for letter, the last cypher key for the last third of the deadpool.

DEREK.

They didn't even have time to let that horrifying result sink in before the code was beeping to life and converting into the last batch of names on the deadpool.

SATOMI ITO 10,000,000

MALIA HALE 4,000,000

LIAM DUNBAR 3,000,000

MEREDITH WALKER 1,000,000

ALEXANDER WOLFGANG 1,000,000

PATRICK CLARK 1,000,000

BREE LEVERETT 250,000

KAITLYN SCHAAR 250,000

GENEVIVE CARY 250,000

ANGELIQUE FAIN 250,000

LORILEE ROHR 250,000

BRITTANI KEGLEY 250,000

Before any other name, Lydia's finger trailed down and zeroed in on Meredith's name. "Call Parrish. We need to call Parrish."

Stiles did so and put the phone on speaker. Lydia's voice was high pitched and desperate sounding as she tried to warn him that someone was going to go after Meredith. That she was on the deadpool. But they were all shocked when Parrish said, "...It's too late."

Lydia's mouth dropped open and face fell, "What are you talking about?"

"Lydia, Meredith's gone. They found her an hour ago in her room. She hung herself. I'm sorry."

After hanging up, Lydia had fallen to the foot of Stiles' bed, letting the boy hug her and try to comfort her. Georgie hovered by the computer, prepared the turn it off for the girl, when her eyes caught another name on the list that didn't make any sense.

"Stiles?"

Her boyfriend could almost feel her confusion and fear as if he was feeling it too. He assumed that had something to do with their soulmate bond. After checking that Lydia was okay, he walked over to Georgie and followed her eyes back to the list.

SATOMI ITO 10,000,000

MALIA HALE 4,000,000

LIAM DUNBAR 3,000,000

MEREDITH WALKER 1,000,000

ALEXANDER WOLFGANG 1,000,000

PATRICK CLARK 1,000,000

BREE LEVERETT 250,000

KAITLYN SCHAAR 250,000

GENEVIVE CARY 250,000

ANGELIQUE FAIN 250,000

LORILEE ROHR 250,000

BRITTANI KEGLEY 250,000

Georgie whispered to him, "I don't want to take away from Meredith. But I'm pretty sure that name," she pointed at it on the screen for him, and watched as his eyes widened, "doesn't belong on this list. Because I'm pretty sure they're already dead."

And as Stiles stared at the name, he had to agree. He had no idea what it meant to see this man's name on a deadpool meant for Beacon Hills. As far as he knew, he had died in Portland. And was buried overseas with his mother. According to Jessie and Emily anyway. But there it was, plain as day.

ALEXANDER WOLFGANG

* * *

Liam was gripping on for dear life, an arm's length away from the top of the well, just out of reach. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on. He could feel his fingers slipping from the slick brick and knew he was going to fall again. And when he slipped, he let out a loud cry as he began to fall. But then Scott's hand shot into the well and caught his.

Liam's heart nearly stopped at the close call, for he was sure he would die if he fell one more time. He looked up and saw Scott peering down at him, starting to lift him up and out of the well.

"You're okay, Liam," Scott said as he pulled Liam out and brought him into a hug. "You're okay."

Tires screeched to a halt on the forest ground behind them, the headlights nearly blinding Liam's sensitive eyes as the car stopped. The doors both opened, and he squinted to see who was coming. He instantly relaxed when he saw Beth running towards him.

"Liam!"

Scott helped him up on shaking legs just as Beth's small body collided with his as she threw her arms around his neck, "Oh my god, thank god you're okay!"

Liam grunted in pain when her hip hit the wound in his abdomen, and Jessie reached them and pulled them slightly apart. She lifted his shirt to check out the stab wound, "You'll be okay once we get you to Deaton anyway."

"Let's go," Scott urged, leading the group back to Jessie's car.

When they got to the vet's clinic, Deaton set right to work once Scott and Chris – who met them there – lifted the jelly-legged beta onto the steel table. Luckily, Liam was calm and tired enough to lay still under Scott's grip as Deaton carefully cut into his chest to let the yellow smoking wolfsbane out of his system. Beth clutched at his hand like he was still dying, watching as his eyes fluttered closed and his breathing evened out.

Scott stared down at Liam, "I don't want to keep watching people die."

"I'm not sure you have much choice about that," Chris told him honestly.

Scott looked up, standing straighter and tossing his arm around Jessie's waist. "Maybe I do."

"That's a lot of burden to carry, Scott," Deaton commented.

Scott locked eyes with Jessie next to him, unconsciously conversing with her through their stare. She gave him a small nod. "I don't care. No one else dies," he insisted to the older men. "Everyone on that list. Everyone on that Dead Pool. It doesn't matter if they're wendigos, or werewolves, or whatever. I'm gonna save everyone."

* * *

After Lydia collected herself enough to go home, Georgie and Stiles discussed when to tell Jessie that the boy she watched die protecting her, was alive and possibly in Beacon Hills.

"I think we should wait," Stiles thought out loud. "There's no sense in telling them tonight. This is big news for her. We don't know how she's going to handle it."

"Waiting will only make it worse," Georgie said. "They're going to ask if Lydia's cracked the last of the list, and they're going to want to see it. We need to go tell her."

Stiles sighed, "Ugh, I know you're right. But-"

"Why wouldn't he tell her he was alive though?" Georgie asked. "Especially if he's here in town. She went through Hell when he died."

Huffing, Stiles picked up a marker and tape. He taped the print out of the last third of the deadpool to his new and improved board and used the marker to underline Alex's name. "It doesn't make sense. Something else must have happened after Jessie's cousin got her away from his body. Something no one saw."

"But what?" Georgie asked. "Could he have been turned or something?"

Stiles was peering at his board, "Jessie never said who – or what – killed him."

"So maybe it was like a bite or something," Georgie suggested. "And for whatever reason, Alex couldn't come to her right away and tell her. But now that we know – she deserves to know too."

Stiles turned to agree with her, "Yes, she does. Just not looking forward to that conversation."

Letting out a sigh, Georgie agreed, "No matter when we tell her, it's going to be a tough conversation."

* * *

Jessie felt herself smile when, as they got to the McCall house, Scott immediately pulled out his school sweatshirt and handed it to her to change into. Continuing to smile, she changed into it. But she noticed how his eyes gravitated towards the gym bag of money laying open on the floor. They didn't know what to do with it now that Garrett was dead.

She grabbed his hand to grab his attention and said softly, "We're going to figure this out together."

Scott smiled at her words, interlocking his fingers with hers. "Have I told you how glad I am that you came back?"

"Not specifically," she teased. "But it doesn't matter. I'm not leaving you again."

Giving her a smile that made her smile, he leaned in closer to her face, "I love you."

"I love you, Scott," she whispered back before he started kissing her. Almost immediately, their kiss grew more and more passionate as Jessie maneuvered him around to sit on his bed, so she could straddle him. Movements blurring supernaturally fast, both of their shirts were discarded on the floor within seconds. Jessie shuddered when Scott started dragging his lips down her neck and above the lines of her bra.

Scott splayed his hands on her lower back and pulled her closer, as close as he could. Digging her fingers into his hair, she pulled his head back, so she could kiss him again. But he pulled away with a slight gasp and panted, "We should, um, slow down?"

"I don't want to slow down," she told him, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

His eyes widened, "Are you sure? I mean, I know it's your first-"

"I'm sure," she cut him off, kissing him again.

With a new ferocity, Scott kissed her back, turning them around so she was on her back on the bed and he hovered on top of her. With another blur of time, their jeans now laid on the floor. And Jessie was curling her knees around his hips to pull him closer as they kissed. Even with her arms around his neck, he was able to pull away enough to grab what they needed from his nightstand.

Jessie blushed when she saw the small square he set on the pillow next to her head but ignored it to continue kissing her boyfriend. She thought she'd feel more nervous, even scared. And she realized that was ridiculous. She'd faced psycho serial killers, hunters, the kanima, the Alpha Pack, Jennifer, and the Nogitsune. She'd endured it all and made it this far. And she had only paused and let fear take over when it came to Scott. When it came to loving him. When it came to letting him love her. And that was what was ridiculous. She shouldn't have been afraid of that. Of him. She should have just let herself enjoy it from the moment she realized they both had feelings for each other.

Soon, they were bare to each other, and Scott had opened and used that square little package. When her legs wrapped fully around him, and he was in position, he still paused to ask her, "Jessie-"

"Please just do it," she whispered. "I love you."

He ducked down to press his lips to his, "I love you too," as he thrust inside.

She'd always heard that it hurt the first time. And it wasn't not uncomfortable. But it didn't hurt. The sappy voice inside of her told her it was because of Scott's gentle nature. But she didn't care for the reason as long as they loved each other and loved this.

When he thought she was ready, Scott continued moving. Listening to her breathless noises became his favorite thing to do as they started moving together. "Scott..."

They both tried to keep touching each other, everywhere they could reach. Moving fluidly and restlessly, they clutched to each other until they reached their simultaneous peak. The end of the moment brought mirth to their eyes and laughter as they kissed each other and whispered that they loved each other again.

* * *

Kate felt like some kind of street urchin hiding out with her beserker pals in the tunnel system beneath Beacon Hills.

"I suppose you're hiding down here because it'll cover your scent. But I can smell a rat. Even in a sewer," Peter's deep, insidious voice, echoed through the tunnels. The former Alpha turned around the corner and smirked at her as she stood at his arrival. "It's getting worse, isn't it? The surges of anger. The loss of control," he guessed as he neared her. He remarked with a play casualness, "You know, I used to get angry. As a kid, I would even break my own toys in little fits of rage. And then I asked myself, "Why break your own toys when you can break someone else's?""

Kate was already tired of him, especially since he had killed her. "Stop pitching and just tell me what you want."

"Obviously, we're in a position of mutually assured destruction," Peter observed, but still sounded like he was pitching to her.

Kate smirked at him, delusional, convinced that she had some sort of upper hand. "Oh, I'm not so sure the scales are that balanced."

Peter pursed his lips and nodded, "Probably true. But... I know you want to get the family back together again. The return of the Argents to their glorious power. Am I right?" A quick listen to her heart told him that he was. "But you know, you can't go back unless you can exhibit absolute and total control. I can offer control. I can teach you."

Kate knew better than to trust him. But she didn't have a lot of options by now. "So, you're willing to teach me in order to get what you want. Which is what?"

"Obviously, I want my money back."

"Mmm-mmm," she hummed, knowing better. "That's not it. Maybe part of it. But that's not all you want."

"I need the money. Yes. But I'll admit, money only gets you so far," he admitted, face morphing into a stern expression and eyes glowing stale blue. "What I want is what I've always wanted. Power."

Kate was beginning to see they could form a mutually beneficial partnership, and then she could be done with him. Maybe even kill him and take his power. But the gears turning in her head were interrupted when a chilling chuckled echoed down the tunnels. Even the beserkers stiffened when they heard it. And both Kate and Peter felt like they'd been transported into snow.

The chuckle carried over them as Kate and Peter looked down the darkening tunnel to see a delicate feminine form appearing out of green mist that spread across the ground. Straining their eyes, they saw that she had almost white blonde hair, stick straight down her shoulders, and pail skin stretched over jutting bones. But she still looked severely beautiful somehow – like magic.

Her lips pulled up into a smug smile, revealing pearly white teeth that almost glittered. "Well, well, well. Let me guess." She lifted a skinny, long finger, pointing it at Peter, "Peter Hale, former Alpha extraordinaire. And," now she pointed at Kate, "Kate Argent, bloodthirsty bitch."

Kate snarled, face instantly morphing into her jaguar form, and she lurched to attack. But, knowing there was more to this seemingly weak woman, Peter held out an arm to stop her.

The woman chuckled again, deep in her throat, thoroughly amused by their actions. Like one who laugh at a child's antics. "You flachwichsers have no imagination, no vision for the bigger picture. But I could help you. As long as I get what I want."

Kate and Peter detected some kind of European accent in her voice but chose not to ask her about that. Instead, Kate asked, "Who are you?"

And Peter asked, "And what do you want?"

The woman smiled widely, menacingly, "My name is Hilda. And I want Jessica Sange's head."


	11. Infected

When Stiles and Georgie arrived at the McCall household, guessing accurately that Jessie would be with Scott tonight, they just walked into the bedroom. They didn't expect to see Scott and Jessie walking out of his bathroom, freshly showered, and only covered in towels.

Georgie squeaked and ducked behind Stiles' to shield her eyes.

Scott and Jessie jumped, and Jessie glared at their best friend, "Don't you knock?"

"We didn't expect you to be naked!" Stiles defended himself. He then caught sight of how messy the bed was and begin to open his mouth to ask.

But Jessie cut him off with a stern look, "Don't even think about it."

Scott silently grabbed his and Jessie's clothes and started going back into the bathroom. "We'll be right back."

Once they'd gotten dressed and came back out, Jessie and Scott saw Georgie sitting on the floor with the bag of money, staring at the stacks. Stiles gestured to it, "Have you counted it yet?"

Scott shook his head, "We were going to earlier, but..."

Georgie waved her hand for him to stop, "Understood. Why don't we count it now?"

The other couple joined them on the floor and Scott overturned the bag. Stacks of money waterfalled onto the carpet, but something else curiously fell out as well. An old cassette tape, with the words 'PLAY ME' scrawled on it.

"After entering the IP address, you will be connected through a Darknet portal to an untraceable bank. Once logged in, enter your account number to receive wire transfers. The IP address will deactivate with each transfer. You will be assigned a new IP address if you choose to continue down the list. Remember, visual confirmation is always required for payment."

Stiles asked, "You ever made a wire transfer?" once they were done counting the money and listening to the mysterious tape.

Scott shook his head, "Never had enough money."

"So, you didn't understand a word of that either?"

"I don't understand any of this," Scott said, feeling helpless. "Why would someone use all this money just to kill us?"

"Someone always wants us dead," Jessie deadpanned. "That is nothing new."

Sighing, Scott nodded and began to put the money and tape back into the gym bag. But Stiles' hands stopped him, "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?"

"It's late," he pointed out. "We've got the PSATs in the morning."

"No, I meant the money. $500,000," Stiles said. "You know how much money that is?"

Georgie even frowned in confusion at his wording, "500,000...?"

"It's half a million dollars," Stiles qualified, looking between all of them. "Scott. What are you going to do, just slide it under your mattress?"

"We can discuss the half a million dollars later," Georgie cut in, elbowing her boyfriend. "We have slightly bigger things to talk about. There was a reason we showed up."

"Yeah, why are you guys here?" Jessie asked, leaning into Scott's side.

With a sigh, Stiles produced the last third of the deadpool from his pocket and handed it to Jessie. "Lydia cracked the last key. Liam's on it. Which is bad. But so is someone else."

Scott looked over Jessie's shoulder to read the list.

SATOMI ITO 10,000,000

MALIA HALE 4,000,000

LIAM DUNBAR 3,000,000

MEREDITH WALKER 1,000,000

ALEXANDER WOLFGANG 1,000,000

PATRICK CLARK 1,000,000

BREE LEVERETT 250,000

KAITLYN SCHAAR 250,000

GENEVIVE CARY 250,000

ANGELIQUE FAIN 250,000

LORILEE ROHR 250,000

BRITTANI KEGLEY 250,000

"Meredith..." Jessie read. "Satomi. And Malia, but it says Hale. That's not good. She doesn't know about Peter being her father yet."

"And Meredith killed herself today," Georgie regretfully informed him. "But there's someone else on that list who should already be dead." Georgie reached over to point it out, cringing at what this news would do to Jessie.

ALEXANDER WOLFGANG.

Jessie was suffocating as her vision tunneled and zoomed in on the name. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't physically possible. She had watched Hilda slice his throat open. She had-

"Oh my god!" Scott exclaimed when he saw the name for himself. "Alex? But he's-"

"Dead," Stiles finished. "Or so we thought."

"Jessie," Georgie spoke softly, trying not to startle the girl who looked like she was going to break. "Is there any chance that whatever... killed Alex, turned him into whatever it was? Like Peter changed Kate when he clawed her throat?"

"He was killed by a witch with a knife," Jessie whispered, not daring to speak any louder. She started backing away from them, closer to the corner of the room. "This isn't possible..."

"Jessie, it's okay," Scott tried to comfort her, following her slowly into the corner and cupping her face. "We'll find him. And if his name on the list is some sort of mistake, we'll find out what happened."

Tears started pooling out of her eyes, her hands crinkling the list as they shook. "I watched him die, Scott. She killed him right in front of me. Just because he got in her way. I – I drank from him-" her sobs cut her off at the horror of her memories.

"You bit him?" Stiles asked before he could help himself.

Jessie cringed and sobbed more, collapsing into Scott's chest. He pulled her close and gave Stiles a look, "She didn't change him. She would have needed to give him her blood in exchange."

"I didn't see his body after Nick and Monroe pulled me away," Jessie whispered. "We need to call Emily. If Alex is alive, who did they bury?"

"That can wait," Georgie said.

A sudden sharp knock on the door startled the four of them. Who else could be showing up unannounced? A wet Malia poked into the room, not taking in the scene before saying, "We found Satomi's pack. Derek and I. But they're dead."

"All of them?" Georgie asked, glad to have something that could distract Jessie.

"All the ones we found," Malia said.

"Then where's Derek?" Stiles asked.

"We found that bounty hunter, Braeden," Malia explained. "She was shot, but alive. Derek and Dechtire are taking her to the hospital."

* * *

_"You have to accept what's happening, Jess."_

_Jessie blandly waved her hand to Alex as they continued hiking through the woods. "Look at us, we're going up against yet another supernatural creature. I'm getting a handle on things. Soon, life will be back to normal. What's to accept about that?"_

_"I'm not talking about the lowen, and you know that," Alex told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her to face him. "You're dragging your feet, you're not admitting what's really going on. Hilda wants you dead. She's more powerful than anything you've faced before, and you're still untrained, you're not ready."_

_"We know all that," Jessie snapped. "But we also know that she's scared of me for some reason."_

_"We need to leave Portland," Alex insisted, keeping his hand curled around her upper arm. "Back to Beacon Hills. It should be safe enough by now and protected enough that she won't follow."_

_"No," Jessie snarled in his face. "I'm not going back now."_

_"Why not?" Alex asked. "It's time."_

_"You brought me here to get control away from Beacon Hills," she pointed out. "That's not the situation yet. And who knows when I'll have real control? Who knows how it really works for vampires? We don't know any others who could tell me. It's just me! I'm the only one! And I do not want them to see me like this."_

_"Jessie-"_

_She had no idea what he was going to say. Because they were interrupted by a cruel laugh that would go on to haunt her. The hunter and vampire whipped around to see the bone-thin white-blonde woman stalking out of the trees like she was walking on a runway, in a designer coat and pantsuit, looking out of place in her heels on the forest floor._

_Alex immediately shielded Jessie from the other woman, holding his gun out in front of him. "I won't let you kill her."_

_Hilda giggled again, deep in her throat, "Slow down, loverboy. What I have planned is much – much – worse." She produced a serrated hunting knife from behind her back, grinning wickedly._

_"Alex," Jessie hissed from behind him, trying to get around, but her strength wasn't working at the moment. She couldn't summon it when she truly needed it._

_Alex's other arm thrust behind him to keep her in place. "Don't move."_

_Hilda seemed amused by his efforts to protect Jessie. "Simple boy. You play an important part."_

_Jessie honestly couldn't remember much after the first strike. Hilda had lunged for them – really, for Alex. It was like she was not interested in Jessie that afternoon for some reason. She had been so focused on Alex. She had slashed at his arms first. Jessie had flinched so much when he tried to take a shot at Hilda and the sound nearly burst her ear drums. It made her fall to the ground._

_But it had given Hilda the freedom to knock the gun from his hand and grab him by the air, twisting him around so he was facing Jessie and holding the knife to his throat. "Pay attention, Jessica. You don't want to miss the show."_

_"No, no!" Jessie cried, standing up and ready to rush over and save him. Kill Hilda._

_But in a flash of movement, Hilda slid the blade across Alex's throat in a sick V-formation and dropped him onto the ground. Laughing._

_"NO!" Jessie screamed, as loud as she could, and a blue force of power emanated from her body, pulsing outward from all sides in a circle._

_It slammed into Hilda and sent her flying back hundreds of feet. Sprawled onto the floor, Jessie saw the fear of God in her eyes as Hilda fled. And Jessie was too busy screaming over Alex's dead body, over his vacant eyes, to care about going after her._

_"Alex?" Jessie begged. "ALEX!" She gagged as she bit into the flesh of her inner forearm to get it bleeding and held the open wound over his lips as she pinched them open. She pressed the blood against his gaping mouth and used her other hand to pump his chest, trying to get his heart beating. Trying to trick the blood into thinking he was alive, so her blood would heal him._

_But it wasn't working. He wasn't moving. And now her blood sat on his tongue, some of it dripping out the corner of his mouth, as his own blood from his throat pooled under his head. It stained her jeans at her knees, but she didn't notice, or didn't care. Not until she licked at her own bloody wound to heal it, giving up on using it to save him._

_She found herself staring at the blood now, as it sank into the Earth. Her glowing eyes zeroed in on the vibrant red oozing out of his neck. She felt her teeth coming out. Her nails elongated. Digging into the dirt as she finally gave in. Her head ducked down into his neck and her teeth clamped down into his flesh, sucking the blood. She had only been feeding off of his corpse for a few moments before she ripped herself away from him and let out a blood curdling scream, crawling away from his body and covering her blood-stained mouth in horror. It all hit her. Everything came rushing back. Everything she tried to suppress. Anger, fear, sorrow, terror, disgust. And she couldn't handle the onslaught and flood of emotions and power._

The next time she screamed, she was waking up in Scott's bed. Her eyes were glowing brightly cobalt and her canines grew out so much they punctured her bottom lip. Her nails had sharpened into finely pointed claws – sleek and smooth. They bit into the bed in front of her until Scott's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into his chest.

"Jessie – breathe," he coaxed her, his gentle voice washing over her as she woke up fully. "It was a nightmare. It's not real."

"No, it was," she whimpered, still fully transformed. "She killed Alex. I saw him – dead. I bit into him, and I fed off of him. And I couldn't control it. There was so much blood."

"It's okay..." he tried to comfort her, hugging her head to his chest and letting her cry. "Just breathe. Remember your anchor."

Her anchor was holding her. She could just look at him. She whispered to herself, "The mother, the maiden, the crone..." and turned around, curling her hand carefully around Scott's neck and planting her lips on his. He readily accepted her embrace, holding his arms around her waist firm. When she pulled away, he opened his eyes to see her slowly going back to normal, her teeth shrinking, and her nails shortening.

He brushed her hair out of her face, "Are you okay?"

Slowly, she let out a breath she'd been holding, "We may need to redefine what 'okay' means, but yeah, I'm okay."

He kissed her forehead and held her close, "What was that you said earlier? Mother, maiden, crone?"

"Um, it's a mantra," she explained softly. "Like how Satomi's pack says, 'the sun, the moon, the truth' and Derek has the spiral. Sienna's side of the Grimm family has this family symbol – a Celtic trinity knot. It's made of three points, unified by a circle. Three is the most sacred number – especially in our world. To Sienna, it signifies the lunar phases and the threefold nature of the Goddess. Mother – is creation. Maiden – is innocence. Crone – is wisdom."

"Does it work?" Scott asked softly.

"Not as much as my anchor," she whispered, looking into his eyes. "You."

He felt his heart swell at her words, confirming that he was her anchor. What made her human. What gave her balance. He cupped her face fully and pressed his lips to hers, after saying, "You're my anchor too. I love you."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need a ride to the school?"

Scott laughed kindly at her paranoid question as he got ready to go take the test. "No, we've been over this. I have my bike, I can pick up Beth on the way, and you can focus on finding out where Alex is. Nothing is going to happen."

Jessie gave him a look that froze him, "How can you say that? We're all on a deadpool available to any and every assassin in the area. Sonia is a fucking tree. You have a new beta. Apparently, Alex is still alive. Or alive again, somehow, but never showed his face. And we still have school."

"You said yourself that we'd figure the deadpool out," he told her, pulling her hands so she stepped close to him and looked into his eyes. "Sonia will be able to get out of the Nemeton. I'll figure out how to teach Liam. And you'll find Alex. And you only have two classes."

Jessie rolled her eyes, "Okay, you're right. You should go now. You don't want to be late for the test and you still have to get Beth."

"We'll be okay," he promised, kissing her forehead before leaving the house. "Stay here as long as you need."

With a sigh, she walked him out, and then went back upstairs to open her laptop at Scott's desk. Checking the time, she opened up Skype to call her cousin, Nick.

His face popped onto the screen with what she guessed was the police station behind him. There was a slight frown on his face and dark circles under his eyes – but she supposed he was still feeling a bit depressed since his girlfriend, Juliette, left him once finding out all about wesen and that he was a grim. Part of her finding out had been her fault. Sienna had shown up with her in the middle of transforming into a vampire. It had been too difficult for Nick to try and explain away.

"Hey, Jess, I got your text," Nick greeted her as he fished his earbuds into his ears, so the other officers didn't hear their conversation. "What do you mean you think Alex is alive?"

"I mean he can't have been dead for months and still have his name show up on a list of people to kill," Jessie deadpanned, still reeling from seeing his name on the deadpool.

Nick stared at her, whispering, "You still haven't explained what this deadpool is. When were you going to tell me, assassins were after you?"

Jessie sighed, "I'm sorry, Nick. I should have called you earlier, but things got crazy. Besides, something or someone is coming after us pretty much all the time."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Nick chided her. It made her remember fondly how he had managed to be an authority figure for her and a cousin and a friend while she had been living with him. "Now, explain please."

With another sigh, she did. "There's a list of supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills floating around out there. We don't know how the list is getting to the assassins. But we've found a tape with weird instructions for wire transfers over the darknet. So far we don't understand how it works."

"I would," Nick volunteered. "Play me the audio and I'll see where it leads."

"Okay, later," she agreed. "But I need to know what you remember about the day Alex died."

Nick frowned, "That was a crazy day. We got separated. You know I didn't see what happened to him."

With a slight quiver now, Jessie spoke, "Yeah, I know. I'm talking about after. Monroe got me away from him and kept me at the spice shop while you and Hank took care of the scene. What did you do with his body?"

"Nothing much," Nick answered as gently as possible. "We took him to an alley and made it look like a mugging gone wrong."

"And when he got identified?" she asked. "We know that his dad and sister took him back to Scotland to bury him next to his mother. But it's impossible for his body to be there if he's showing up on the deadpool. Did anything suspicious happen regarding his case?"

Nick suddenly leaned forward, something dawning on him, "Yeah... I didn't think anything of it at the time, but the Deputy Commissioner was really against releasing his body. Said he didn't want to lose vital evidence to Scotland for a case here. Renard, Hank, and I really had to make a case for this being a random crime, and not something bigger."

"How long did it take?" Jessie asked.

"A few weeks, at least," Nick told her.

"Was his body just sitting in the morgue that whole time?" Jessie thought out loud. "Wouldn't there be cameras and guards or something?"

Nick admitted, "We don't have a lot of security there. Especially at night. Everyone there is dead already."

Jessie breathed out slowly through her nose, "So, for all we know, someone who may have your Deputy Commissioner in their pocket, could have taken Alex's body and done something to him. And he's alive and wandering around Beacon Hills right now, as something else. That still doesn't explain why he would be staying away from me."

"We have no idea what happened to him, or how it changed him," Nick told her. "Maybe it even messed with his memory."

"You think he doesn't remember me?" Jessie didn't know how she felt about the thought of that.

Nick shrugged, "Anything is possible at this point."

Jessie nodded, mind running wild with ideas. "Is there anything you can access from there to get some answers on when and where and how his body was transported?"

"Yeah, I can dig up the file," he offered. "Don't forget to that tape. And Jessie – be careful."

She softly smiled at her cousin and promised, "I will. Thank you, Nick."

* * *

The line for the PSAT dragged down the lockers. Kira, Stiles, Malia, Scott, and Beth were huddled in their little group, waiting impatiently to start.

Kira looked around, "Where's Lydia?"

Stiles answered, "She's took it her freshman year. Jessie and Georgie took it Sophomore year."

Malia glared, "Does that mean I could have taken it some other time?"

Scott nudged her, "Malia, you studied harder for this than any of us."

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna do good," she argued.

"Well..." Stiles instantly corrected.

Malia looked at him expectantly, "Well, what?"

"It's do well, not good," he elaborated.

Malia stood off the lockers, growing more paranoid by the second, "Oh, God!"

"You're doing this, because while we're trying not to die, we still need to live," Scott cut in, looking from Malia to the rest of the group, trying to encourage them all. "If I survive high school, I'd like to go to college. A good college."

"It's only three hours," Beth added.

"Why are you taking the test this early?" Malia frowned.

Beth shrugged, "Jessie suggested getting it over with so I'm ready for the SATs."

Malia groaned at the reminder of the SATs when the doors to class finally opened and they were being led inside. They collected test packets and pencils from one teacher, Mr. Simon, and had to surrender their cell phones to Lydia's mom, Natalie.

"Please do not open the test booklet until you are instructed to do so. This test is two hours and 10 minutes. There will be two 25-minute critical reading sections, two 25-minute math sections and an essay writing portion that will last 30 minutes."

Beth tried to steady her nervous heart from her seat next to Scott and Stiles and started when she felt Scott's hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see him sending her a comforting smile, "You're going to do great. You're just a smart as Jessie is."

"Thanks," she whispered.

The male teacher looked over at Natalie and mentioned, "There are supposed to be two teachers monitoring this exam."

Ms. Martin frowned, "I know. It's Coach. He's not exactly punctual. Um, let me just try him again." She picked up her phone and left into the hall, calling Coach. She could hear a cell phone beeping and saw the Coach's office down the hall. She walked over and peaked inside to see Coach looking pale and sweaty, head collapsed on his desk.

"Oh, no," she whispered, walking over to him and nudging his head to try and wake him up. "Hey, get up." All he did was groan, not even in the way of acknowledging that she was there. She sighed to herself, "Hey. Oh, Bobby. 15 years sober and you fall off the wagon at school?" Again, she pulled his face up, "Coach, look at me. It's Natalie."

He just muttered unintelligibly.

And she gave up. "Forget it. I'll bring you some coffee during one of the breaks. 15 years, Bobby." She rushed out of the office as orderly as she could and got back to the classroom. "I can't find him, but Mr. Yukimura is upstairs grading papers. Do you want me to try him?"

Simon grimaced, "We have to start. We can ask for his assistance during the first break." He turned to the teens, "You may now open your test booklets and begin."

Everyone ripped into their booklets and started right away. Stiles was juggling three pencils in his hands and mouth, frowning in confusion as every other question. Kira had a perpetual furrow in her forehead as she worked. Malia just stared blankly, trying to remember all the knowledge fleeing her head when she needed it the most. Scott took on each question with determination. And Beth chewed into the skin of her lip as she answered each question.

Only about ten minutes into the test, a girl just behind them suddenly fell out of her desk onto the floor.

"Sydney!" Natalie cried as she rushed over to help the girl back to her feet. "Are you all right?"

Sydney seemed embarrassed and disoriented as she answered, "I'm okay. I just got kind of dizzy."

Ms. Martin routinely looked her over and noticed some sort of red rash on the inside of her wrist. "Sydney, how long have you had this?"

Sydney quietly shook her head, "I don't know."

"Ms. Martin, do I need to stop the test?" Simon asked.

Started, Ms. Martin answered, "No, um, it's fine. Everybody stay in your seats. I'll, um, be back in a minute." She made her way by the front desk towards the door and whispered to Simon, "Nobody leaves the room."

She made her way back to Coach's office and now proceeded with caution. She grabbed a tissue from the Kleenex box and titled his wrist out, seeing nothing. She checked the back of his neck and didn't see anything there either. She was about to feel relieved when she stopped herself, walking around him to carefully pull up the back of his shirt. She gasped in horror at the sight of an ugly red rash, much larger and more expanded than Sydney's, including painful red lesions.

She clutched her phone as she made her way back into the hallway and gasped loudly when a group of teenagers burst into the school. She started racing for them, shouting, "Get back! No! Do not come in here! Get back outside!" Startled, the teens back out of the school and she slams into the door, locking it. She turned to see most of the kids, including Scott and his group, wandering out in the hall, responding to her yells no doubt. "Back to your seats. Now. Please."

Slowly, they all did so. But Beth was surprised when she bumped into Scott's back and saw that he had stopped walking and seemed to be listening to the hallway. "Scott? What's going on?"

"I need the number of the CDC. Yes, the Center for Disease Control."

* * *

Jessie felt silly walking through the hospital, given what Derek and Marissa were there for. Watching over Braeden who was resting from a bullet wound. But she had to get his take on things. She ended up running into Melissa at the nurse's station and smiled when she did, "Hey, Melissa."

She had hoped she'd run into Scott's mom, and came equipped with a breakfast burrito and coffee. Melissa gave the young girl a big smile as she accepted the food, "You are a God send. If anything happens with you and Scott, I will take you as my daughter anyway, and put Scott up for adoption if need be."

Jessie chuckled, "As lame as it sounds coming from a seventeen-year-old, nothing will happen to me and Scott."

"Given who you two are, I believe you," Melissa said warmly. "Now, what brings you here other than bringing me breakfast? Or are you just bored with Scott and the others at school on a Saturday?"

Jessie chuckled, then grew more serious, "I heard Derek and Dechtire brought Braeden in last night. And I needed to talk to Derek."

"Dechtire left earlier this morning," Melissa told her. "But Marissa came in and I was able to sneak them in for a scan. I can show you."

Jessie followed her up to where a doctor was just walking out. "Hello Melissa. You can go in and see your friends if you want."

"Thanks Ralph," Melissa said, pushing the door open for Jessie.

Derek and Marissa looked up upon their entrance. Both had specks of tears in their eyes but smiles on their faces. Marissa's got bigger when she saw the others and said, "We're having a girl."

Derek brushed his hand through Marissa's hair and added, "We thought it would be too early to tell, but she was positioned just right and seems to be a little farther along than she should be. But I was always told it was the same when my mom was pregnant with me and my sisters."

"That's great guys," Melissa replied fondly. "And you know, Melissa is a terrific middle name."

They laughed, and Jessie added, "You guys are going to be great parents."

Derek helped Marissa off of the exam table as he said, "Thanks. Did you hear about the scan or...?"

"No, I came to talk to you about something, but it can wait," Jessie said, not wanting to ruin their lovely moment with the news of Alex's non-death.

"Jessie," Marissa spoke up, hand on her belly and slight frown on her face, "is someone in danger?"

"No. I don't know," Jessie floundered. "We cracked the last third of the list. Or Lydia did. And Alex's name is on it."

Derek gaped, "Alex? Alex Wolfgang?"

Marissa pursed her lips, "Wasn't that the boy from the hunter family, that took you to Portland?"

Jessie nodded, "And died in Portland. Or at least we thought he did. My cousin, Nick, is looking into what could have happened to his body between it sitting at Portland and getting sent to Scotland. But our guess is, it wasn't his body that got buried in Scotland, and he's walking around somewhere here in Beacon Hills. And for some reason, he can't or won't come to us."

"We'll find him," Derek decided. "Once the others get done with their test, we can get Scott and Malia on his scent, if you have anything with it."

"Monroe took his leather jacket for me to have to remember him," Jessie revealed. "It's at the loft. I can get it once they finish."

* * *

Beth stuck to Scott and Stiles like glue as they watched CDC doctors marching into the school in big yellow hazmat suits. They had quickly set up a triage in the classrooms and started covering the windows and outer exits with plastic, putting the whole school into quarantine. She whispered, "What the hell is happening?"

She felt Scott's hand on hers that was clutching his arm and tried to reassure her, "I don't know. But we'll figure it out soon."

* * *

Sheriff Stilinski haphazardly parked his vehicle in front of the school and marched up to the lead CDC doctor giving orders out of a tent. "Excuse me. Can anyone tell me what we're dealing with here?"

"Hopefully a false alarm," she explained to him. "The details provided have concerned us and your local health authorities enough to order a quarantine. We're going to need your help ensuring that no one gets in or out of the school."

"My son is in there," he muttered, peering at the building.

She frowned, "Is this gonna be a conflict for you?"

"Conflict? No. Stressful? Yeah," he corrected, heaving a big sigh. "All right. What happens now?"

* * *

Scott had kept his word to Beth to find out what was going on as long as she stayed put with the others and followed Natalie to the triage where she was setting up Sydney in her own plastic bubble.

"We isolate the sick and then we wait for instructions. If I'm wrong, they'll be out of here pretty quickly, and then I'm the crazy biology teacher who panicked for nothing."

After Natalie excused herself to set up other bubbles, Scott hovered as Sydney let out a melancholy sigh, staring at the lesions on her arms. Scott stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on her ankle. "Hey. You're gonna be okay."

Sydney frowned, "It's not that. The PSAT is the qualifying tests for the National Merit Scholarship. My parents can't afford to send me to college without it."

Scott could relate to her pressures about money and the future. But she didn't need to worry about that right now. Neither of them did. "Well, I'm sure they'll let you take it again."

* * *

Kira, Stiles, Beth, and Malia sat around in the classroom, watching the CDC move about in the halls and outside the windows. Beth was fidgeting nervously with her cuticles, jumping when Stiles reached over to stop her fingers. He covered her hands with one of his own and threw his other arm around her shoulder – brotherly comfort.

"Bet they're thinking smallpox," he theorized, if only to say something.

But the teacher, Simon interrupted them blandly, "Not likely. Smallpox was eradicated worldwide in 1979. We've only managed to completely eradicate two viruses in history. The other was rinderpest. It killed cows."

"So, we should be comforted by that, right?" Stiles asked him sarcastically.

Simon just remained reclined at his desk, "Unless it's something worse."

Malia was listening in on what was going on outside, her ears taking in all the different chatter, "Whatever it is, they're taking it pretty seriously. They're a lot of cars and trucks out there."

"We're doing the best we can."

"Your dad's with them," she told Stiles.

Stiles stood up, "Hey, I should probably call him," going to collect his phone from the envelopes on the teacher's desk.

"Don't bother," the teacher droned. "They would have shut off any access to all outside communication by now. No cell service, no WiFi. No one starting a panic. Looks like we're all just going to have to wait here and see what happens."

* * *

Deaton didn't think he'd seen anything like this before. Satomi's beta was laid out on his table, broken out in sweats, unconscious, dark blood seeping out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, and claws out of his fingers.

"How does it begin?"

"With fever," the aged but wise Alpha told him. "Then shifting becomes uncontrollable. Fangs, claws, even full, unwarranted transformations. We moved into the woods when that began. Then it progressed faster and faster. They couldn't stand. But worse than that was this sudden blindness."

Deaton lifted the beta's eyelids to see his eyes rolled back completely, "Total?"

"They couldn't see a thing," she frowned, deeply saddened. "From there, they had only a few minutes left."

"Then he may not have much time left," Dechtire said from Deaton's side, eyeing the ailing beta warily. He looked just like the pile of bodies she'd found in the woods.

"I'm going to be honest, Satomi. We need to get him to a hospital," Deaton said.

Satomi frowned, giving him a look, "That's never really been an option for our kind. Unless you know something I don't."

"Not something, but someone."

* * *

Derek, Marissa, and Jessie decided to check on Braeden before leaving the hospital to see what they could do about finding Alex. But they had only been in there for a few moments before Melissa marched in with a syringe, preparing to inject it into Braeden's IV.

"What's that?" Derek asked.

"Naloxone," Melissa said as she pushed the plunger down. "We need to wake her up."

"But you said she needed to rest," Marissa commented.

Melissa put the syringe down and looked at them, mainly Jessie, "That was before I found out the CDC just put the high school under quarantine with Scott and Stiles still in there."

"What?" Jessie gasped, just as Braeden sat up with a sharp gasp of her own.

Melissa bent over her as she breathed heavily and spoke calmly, "Braeden, look at me. You were shot, but you're in the hospital now and you're fine. Do you understand?" With a look towards Derek and Melissa, Braeden nodded shortly. "Good. Okay. Last night you were in the woods and you came across another pack? Do you know what happened to them?"

"I told you, they were poisoned," Derek interrupted.

"No," Braeden muttered, throat raspy. "No, they were infected. It was a virus designed to kill werewolves. It did. It killed them all."

"I have to go," Jessie rushed through the door.

"Wait, Jessie," Derek stopped her, holding her arm.

"He's right," Melissa said. "We don't know that it only affects werewolves. You could get infected too."

"I don't care," she pulled her arms from Derek's grip. "Scott and Beth are in there, with the others. And I need to see what I can do to help them. I'll call you for updates."

Melissa grabbed her hand and looked at her earnestly, "Be careful. Promise me?"

"I promise," she whispered, giving the older woman a hug before running out.

* * *

"Scott?" Natalie called through the locked locker room door, feeling worried for the boy. "You've been in there a long time, you all right? Hey, you need to come back with the others."

Inside, Scott was bent over the sink, feeling his sweat wetting the back of his shirt, and his blood pump sporadically and rapidly through his veins. With a surge of power, he couldn't control, he looked into the mirror and saw his fangs coming out, eyes glowing red. Something was really wrong with him. Whatever was going on, was making him change. And he couldn't control it.


	12. Canine Distemper

Georgie and Nuala felt sorry for Lydia as she had a staring contest with the box of Meredith's belongings. But they said nothing as the banshee pulled off the lid and started taking things out, setting them aside on the carpet between her and the record player in her grandmother's study. Georgie felt even sadder when she saw all that Meredith had owned. An antique looking bottle of perfume, a bouquet of dead yellow flowers, now brown, dry, and withered, a photograph of Meredith, and a small stuffed bear that looked well loved.

Lydia set them all down and reached up to drop the needle on the record, hearing nothing but static. "All right, Meredith. I'm not sure how to do this. I'm not a psychic. And apparently, I'm not much of a banshee either. But I'm trying to help my friends." Her voice dropped to a whisper as tears built in her eyes. "I don't know if you can hear me. Or, uh, what I'm supposed to ask you. But if I have this thing, it's got to work some of the time. It's gotta help someone. Maybe what I really wanted to say was... I'm sorry. I wish I could have helped you. I'm sorry."

"Lydia, it wasn't your fault," Georgie whispered as the other girl started dropping the things back inside the box, dropping the lid on top.

Lydia didn't answer, wiping the tears that had fallen from her eyes, but she paused when she got a better look at the photo. "Guys, you need to see this."

Nuala and Georgie stood and looked over her shoulder, seeing a black and white photo of Meredith standing in a room. "What's so weird about it?" Nuala asked. "It's just Meredith."

Lydia held the photo in her eyeline against the wall next to the record player in the study, comparing it to the decal in the photo. "This photo – was taken in this room."

* * *

The girls were alone as they waited in line with all the other students, to get their blood taken for testing by the lead CDC doctor. Malia seemed to Beth to be getting angsty, tapping her foot, when she suddenly turned to the two of them with a sickly-sweet smile, "Kira, Beth, do you ever get the feeling that Scott and Stiles aren't telling you everything?"

Kira frowned, "What do you mean?"

Malia explained, "Like they hide stuff."

Beth was only getting more confused – since she still didn't know Malia was Peter Hale's daughter. But Kira gaped dumbly, anxiety washing over her, "I think if they did, they'd probably have a pretty good reason."

Malia's facade of a smile dropped, and she cut right to her original point, "Do you know what they're hiding in the bag under Scott's bed? Come on, Georgie tells me half the fun of being in a relationship is sharing secrets."

"Oh that?" Beth asked. "Jessie told me they found a tape in Garrett's gym bag with instructions on how to get paid for taking someone out on the deadpool."

"That's it?" Malia asked. "Do they know how he got it?"

Beth shrugged, "It didn't make much sense to someone who isn't an assassin. Jessie sent it to her detective cousin in Portland to see if he could figure out where it came from."

Malia accepted this with a nod as the CDC doctor called, "Kira Yukimura."

Kira nervously stepped forward, eyeing the needle with trepidation, and put her arm out. The doctor handled her elbow and cleaned the crevice. "You feeling all right, Kira?" Kira mutely nodded, eyes trained on the syringe the doctor held up. The CDC doctor gave her a comforting look, "I don't like needles either. I promise, it'll be fast." Kira just nodded and psyched herself for the puncture, but when the tip of the needle started digging into her skin, an electric current struck through the metal and traveled out to the doctor, shocking her.

She let out a yelp and backed away from Kira, dropping the blackened needle to the floor as her colleagues grabbed her and started running her out of the school.

"Kira!" Malia yanked a stunned Kira out of their way as they raced out. She caressed Kira's arms and asked her, "Are you okay? Did she hurt you or something?"

Kira shakily replied, "No, no. I don't know what just happened."

* * *

The Sheriff was growing more nervous as he waited for something to happen or for someone to tell him that it was all a false alarm and his son was coming out. But he was startled when the doors burst open and hazmat suits were carting a doctor out. "Excuse me. Careful, Doctor. Slowly..."

"What happened in there?" he asked, running up to them in worry.

She said, "I don't know, must have been static electricity."

"Any breach of the interior layer, doctor?" her colleague asked.

She pulled her sleeve to reveal a black spot on the yellow suit, pulling off her hood, "It's okay, it just broke the top layer."

Suddenly, an equally worried FBI Agent McCall rushed up to them, demanding to know, "Any verdict on what we're dealing with yet? My son's in there."

She looked impatiently between him and the Sheriff, "Your son and his son. Great. You can debrief each other." She walked away with her employees to get a new suit.

Rafe turned to the Sheriff, "I heard smallpox. Any truth to that?"

Sheriff Stilinski wanted to tell the other man – father to father – his real worries when it came to their sons and the supernatural world. But he couldn't. "You want my opinion? I don't think the Orphans were the only professional killers in Beacon Hills."

"Rafe! Alec!"

Both men turned to see none other than Jessie Hansen sprinting towards them. Rafe frowned in confusion at her sudden appearance, "Jessie? How did you get passed the barricade?"

"I'm quick," she said shortly. "What's happening? What do you know?"

"Unfortunately, not much," Stilinski frowned. "The whole place is under quarantine, water tight. No one comes out that isn't CDC."

"What kind of disease is it?" Jessie asked quickly. "Viral, bacterial, airborne, fluids, is it a red rash?"

"Viral, with red lesions," Stilinski asked slowly. "How did you guess that?"

"The CDC called the hospital to see if there were any cases there, or if it was just the school," Jessie fibbed on the spot, mindful of Rafe's presence. She would explain the truth to the Sheriff later. "I was there bringing Melissa breakfast. We're both freaking out! Scott and Beth are in there!"

"Who is Beth?" Rafe asked.

"My sister," Jessie told him, looking at him with tears in her eyes as she started breathing heavier. "I can't lose them, Rafe."

The Sheriff was about to panic when he saw her eyes start to flash cobalt but breathed a sigh of relief when instead of noticing the anomaly in eye color, Rafe awkwardly but readily brought the young girl in for a hug. "Nothing is going to happen to any of them. We're going to figure out what's going on in there and the CDC will be able to fix it. You got that?"

Calm enough that her eyes wouldn't change, Jessie pulled away and nodded, "Thank you, Rafe."

He nodded, and looked off towards the main tent, "I've got some pull with the CDC, I'm going to get myself on the inside to see what I can find out." With a nod from the others, he walked off.

* * *

Ken had gone looking for Scott when he hadn't come back to class or gotten his blood drawn. And he'd found the Alpha uncontrollably shifting back and forth between man and wolf, and immediately left to get Stiles and the others. They congregated in the locker room immediately.

They peered worriedly at Scott's eyes as they blinked red and brown. Beth frowned, "Still happening."

Malia was struggling with her grizzly claws, "I can't make them go back."

"Obviously the virus is affecting the two of you in a way it won't hit any human being," Ken observed.

"You guys have to stay out of sight," Stiles said. "We have to quarantine you from the quarantine."

"Yeah, but where?" Kira posited, looking between Malia and Scott with worry. "I mean, what if they get violent? Like on a full moon."

"We shouldn't stay in here. Not in the locker room," Scott grunted, still trying to control his fangs.

"A classroom is not going to hold us," Malia added.

"What about the basement?" Kira suggested.

Scott shook his head, "Too many ways out. We need something secure. Somewhere nobody can find us."

Stiles and Beth looked at each other, an idea dawning on them at the same time, "The vault."

"The Hale vault," Scott agreed. "The Hales always have an escape route. Like their house. There has to be another way in."

* * *

Ken spread the High School blueprints over Coach's desk once he'd been able to find them. Of course, Stiles knew where they were kept. And of course, Stiles was the one to start to point things out, "This is where the school sign is, so the vault's got to be right about here."

"I suppose if there's a second entrance, it would probably be accessible from the basement," Ken pointed out.

"It's probably somewhere in this hallway. West corridor," Stiles gestured along the map, suddenly taken with a dizzy spell, almost falling into Beth, if Malia hadn't caught both of them.

"Stiles?" Beth asked, concerned. She caught sight of something red on the skin of his wrist and pulled it up to see he had the same lesions Sydney had. "Oh no."

"It's happening to you too. You're getting sick," Ken observed. He looked around at the rest of them, "You all are."

Kira frowned, "I don't feel sick."

But Ken didn't look comforting with his grim look, "I think it's affecting you differently, neurologically. I found your test answers here in a pile with the others." He pulled out her test sheet and handed it to her. Her eyes widened when she noticed that all the marks she'd made while taking the test were completely off the actual bubbles. Maybe she was sick.

* * *

The group of teens raced down the stairs to the basement, panting by the time they arrived, and desperately looked around for some possible second entrance into the Hale family vault. Beth felt hot under her collar and idly scratched at her hip when Stiles suddenly called to them, "Hey, guys... Over here." He and Scott pushed a tall metal shelf away from the wall and Beth watched Stiles trace a spiral carved in the stone wall with some sort of metal design embedded in the center. It looked like Derek's tattoo. "Look at the cracks in the wall. It's like the entrance outside, it only opens with claws." Stiles can Scott a significant look. "Anyone's claws, right?"

Scott slowly nodded, knowing what he meant. It would only work with the claws of a Hale werewolf. But they couldn't let on to that in front of Malia. Scott looked at the were-coyote, "Um... Malia, can you try?"

Malia frowned, "Why me?"

"I don't have control," Scott explained, producing his hands with regular human nails.

Malia nodded, but stood straight as an arrow and demanded, "Okay. I'll do it. But first tell me what you've been hiding from me."

Stiles and Scott shared startled looks as Kira looked on with wide eyes and Beth with confusion as the boys stammered for a response.

"I know you think you're trying to protect me, but I can handle it," Malia told them. "...I know I'm on the list."

"Yes..." Stiles said with relief.

"So, how much?" she asked, curious.

"How much what?"

"How much am I worth?"

Scott answered, "Four million."

"Damn, that's a lot of money," Beth commented.

"Scott and Jessie are worth 25. They'll take you guys out way before me," Malia replied without a care and stepped up to the entrance. She pushed her claws into the crevice of the metal circle and twisted it around until the door pushed in. The heavy stone scraped against the floor as they pushed it open and walked into the Hale vault. It was expansive and dark and lined with shelves and the broken safe.

As soon as they stepped in and closed the door behind them, Beth started feeling faint and almost fell over. She would have if Kira hadn't caught her. "Bethany!?"

"I don't feel good," Beth groaned as Scott and Kira led her over to a large metal box to sit her down.

"Well..." Malia incorrectly corrected her.

"Actually, 'well' or 'good' work that way," Stiles grimaced as he corrected her.

"Is it cold in here?" Beth whimpered, sweating a bit on her brow but still shivering violently. Why did she feel hot and cold at the same time?

Stiles quickly took off his jacket and laid it over her shoulders, helping her get her arms into the sleeves before he zipped it up for her.

Kira was checking her over for red lesions and found her wrists clear, but started turning up the hem of her shirt, finding the angry red rash spread over her hip and stomach.

"We need to get a cure," Scott said, determined. "Now."

* * *

Melissa was deeply troubled when Deaton called her before he and a female Alpha she'd never heard of or met brought in a beta in violent sweats, pale as death, blind and leaking dark blood out of every orifice. And then there was his half-transformed form. "Okay. This isn't happening at the school, is it?"

"School?" Deaton blinked. "It's Saturday."

Melissa gave him a grave look, "They're taking the PSATs."

Satomi frowned deeply, "I think we need to hurry."

Melissa and Deaton wheeled the Alpha on a bed into the large elevator just as it opened up. She flinched as the beta started panting more and more, groaning in pain. She hit the button over and over again, muttering, "Come on, come on, come on," to herself as if that would make the elevator go faster.

But it wasn't fast enough. The beta started choking for a violent moment before he finally let out a slow breath – his last breath. Melissa closed her eyes, kicking herself, even if it wasn't her fault. Deaton and Satomi both sagged, and the wise Alpha started to sob for her lost pack member.

* * *

The supernatural beings in the vault were all starting to feel the effects of the infection. Malia and Kira were leaning against each other's sides, sitting against the opposite wall from the boys and Beth. Beth stretched up on her legs, feeling stiff in her knees, and held onto the shelves next to her for support. She noticed a jar of something dark and dry on one shelf, idly picking it up before she felt too tired again, and sat back down, laying her head in Scott's lap, while Stiles made sure his jacket was still fastened on her.

"You know, this is where it all started," Stiles commented. "That's where the money was. 141 million in bearer bonds."

"How do you even change bearer bonds into cash?" Kira asked.

Stiles shrugged, "Bank, I guess. They just let it sit here the whole-time collecting dust. You know bearer bonds are basically extinct?"

Kira asked next, "Why does it matter?"

Stiles gave her a look, "You know how many problems that money could solve?"

"For you?"

Stiles limply nodded, feeling warm too, "Me. My dad... The Eichen House and MRI bills are crushing him."

Scott sadly brushed Beth's hair out of her face as he said, "Mom does this thing, she writes down all the items in our budget, and how much they cost, then she adds them all up and figures out how long we have until... We lose the house."

Kira frowned, sitting next to Malia on the ground across from them. She reached over and took the were-coyote's hand, wishing she had the ability to take away their pain like they could for others. And she wished that her friends didn't have to worry about things like money and their homes and parents while fighting for their lives as well. When was it all going to end?

* * *

Liam was unbelievably panicked when he caught the rumors of the quarantine at the High School. Not having a car, he had just started running. Luckily, in his new condition, he could manage the distance alright, but the situation was well underway by the time he got there. When he got there, he tried to break through the barricade, but they wouldn't let him through. He walked along the perimeter, trying to find a weak spot, when he ran into Lydia, Nuala, and Georgie.

"Guys – do you know what's going on in there!?" he asked them when he saw them.

"I don't know, some kind of infection," Georgie whispered, feeling so worried. "Stiles and Scott are inside."

"So are Kira and Malia," Nuala observed. "This can't be a coincidence with assassins out there."

"Beth is in there!" Liam shouted, not wanting to forget her. Even if she was human, this disease could hurt or kill her.

Lydia was trying to peak around the deputies until she caught sight of Stilinski standing with Jessie, "Sheriff! Sheriff!"

He noticed her and the others and walked over, waving at his deputy, "Whoa, hey! I know them, let them in."

When the deputy moved the tape, they rushed through. Lydia let out a sharp exhale, "My mom's in there. What's happening?"

Sheriff Stilinski could only say, "We're working on it."

"Liam?" Jessie was confused as to why the beta would be with the girls. "What are you doing here?"

"Beth's in there," the beta replied, training his eyes on the school.

"I can get inside if I can get away from where people could see," Georgie said, chewing on her thumb nail. Stiles was in there. Her unum was inside a school with a possibly fatal disease and a possible assassin. Sure, Stiles was human. But he had a knack for getting in the bad guy's way and getting in trouble for it.

"No," the Sheriff denied, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We all know that this isn't a normal disease. It's targeted. We can't risk you getting infected."

"Stiles is in there, I can't lose him," Georgie's voice piqued.

"We both know he wouldn't want you going in there and possibly getting sick," he pointed out. "He would never forgive himself if that happened because of him."

"He's right," Nuala said, putting an arm around her friend to keep her still.

Georgie sighed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. When Jessie clasped her hand, she knew the vampire understood how she felt. Their boys were in that school, in danger. And they couldn't do much to help them from where they were.

* * *

Stiles and Scott hovered in front of the closed vault door. Scott pressed his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything. Stiles asked for the second time in five minutes, "Anything?"

"They're looking for us. Someone's going to have to go out there," Scott said, eyeing Stiles. He was the obvious choice. The were-beings couldn't leave, and Beth was dead on her feet. Scott looked back, seeing Malia laying limp on the floor with Kira. He dropped his voice to tell Stiles, "We need to tell her the truth about Peter. She's going to see the rest of the dead pool eventually."

Stiles grimaced, pointing out, "Try to remember that Peter is the one name missing on that list. Which either makes him incredibly lucky or the benefactor. She finds out about him she's going to go to him, you know she is." He looked back at Malia, wondering if she would become just like her father given the chance to be pushed right into his web. "And then he's going to twist his way into her head like he does with everyone. Including us. We let him walk around like nothing ever happened, like he's one of the good guys... Scott, he's not one of the good guys. If she finds out about him, she's gone. That's probably what he's waiting for and if he wins, we lose."

Scott frowned, understanding him but, "We're already losing."

* * *

Melissa and Deaton, with medical masks, worked as diligently and sternly as possible, as Melissa pressed the saw to the beta's head so they could see what they were dealing with. Satomi flinched when Deaton folded her beta's skin over his eyes and looked grim.

"I think I know what this is. Unfortunately, if I'm right, and Scott and the rest are infected, it's not good. They're going to die without an antidote."

* * *

"Beth?"

Beth blinked her eyes open as Stiles sat her up. "Stiles?"

"How are you feeling?"

She groaned, "Warm, actually."

Nodding, he helped her out of the jacket and laid it down next to her. "I have to go... they're looking for you guys."

Beth nodded and tried to stand, "I'll go too..."

But Stiles had her sit back down. "No, you stay here. Rest. Jessie would have all our heads on a spike if she found out we overexerted you during a crisis."

Beth giggled, "It's cool having an all-powerful vampire-grim for a sister. Everyone's scared of her."

"Yeah, she's pretty cool," Stiles mumbled. "I'll be back, okay? But if anything happens – if they start changing or getting aggressive – you open that door and lock them in, okay? That's an order."

Beth chuckled again, "You're not as intimidating as her – but, I got it."

Stiles laughed softly and gave her a kiss on her head before standing and opening the door. He kept his eyes on his friends as the door slid closed behind him.

* * *

Derek and Marissa sat in Braeden's hospital room together, watching over the sleeping bounty hunter while clutching each other's hands as well.

"Beacon Hills is such a dangerous place to live," Marissa whispered suddenly. "How are we supposed to raise a child here?"

Derek looked at her, startled, but he could admit she had a point. He had grown up here, his parents had raised children in Beacon Hills. But that hadn't gone well. Most of his family was burned alive, the others scattered or became homicidal. So, he couldn't make a case for Beacon Hills being safe. His family had sort of been tasked with protecting it, because it needed someone to protect it. But he wasn't the only one here now. Scott had his whole pack.

He hugged Marissa into his side, "We'll figure out what to do."

Braeden started to groan herself awake, eyeing them, "What are you still doing here?"

They were cut off by a knock at the door and then Melissa was in the room, holding the door open for someone, "Derek. I think there's someone here you've been trying to find."

Satomi appeared, face grim with recognition.

* * *

Sheriff Stilinski had managed to calm Georgie down, but could barely hide his own anxiety. He pulled Lydia over to the side, "Lydia... As all this is still very new to me, and I don't know how it works, I still have to ask. Do you have any kind of... Indication? Any kind of feeling about this? Is someone in there going to die?"

Lydia whispered grimly, "Yes. And it's not just a feeling."

* * *

Beth was feeling just a bit more alert the more time passed. She figured it had to be a fluke, but that didn't matter as she saw Malia start to shiver and whimper in pain and cold. With slight discomfort, she stood up with Stiles' jacket and draped it over Malia's shoulder. The were-coyote gave her a slight smile, as much as she could offer.

"You're going to be okay," Beth urged her to believe. "All of you."

Malia tried to believe in her words as she laid her head on Kira's shoulder and fought to stay awake.

* * *

"It's a variant of canine distemper. A few years ago, an outbreak in Yellowstone killed 40% of the wolf population," Deaton was telling Melissa, Derek, Satomi and Marissa.

Melissa stared at Deaton with terror on her face, "What's it going to do to our wolf population?"

Deaton's lips straightened into a line, "Well, it's been altered to infect quite a bit faster."

Derek gave him a look, "You mean it's been weaponized?"

"It infected my whole pack," Satomi commented sadly.

Deaton looked at her, now curious, "Everyone except for you. That's the real question. Did you not get infected? Or are you immune?"

* * *

Stiles walked around to put in his appearance, so others didn't keep looking for his friends. He perused the plastic bubbles, feeling a bit warm, and noticed Coach laying in his own room, unconscious.

Natalie noticed him, "Stiles, you're not looking so good, maybe you ought to lie down."

Stiles shook his head, "It's okay, have you seen Mr. Yukimura?"

"Yeah, he's fine, he's helping the other students," she told him.

"Okay," he said, his eyes going to Finstock again. "Is Coach the only adult who got sick today?"

She nodded, "As far as I know."

"Why is he..." he thought out loud, but trailed off, feeling just a bit delirious.

"Stiles?" Natalie reached out to steady him. "I think you should lie down."

He brushed her off, turning to leave, "Yeah, no, it's okay. I'll be back, I'll be right back."

* * *

"If your pack was infected, then who was doing all the shooting at the entrance to the woods?" Deaton asked Satomi.

"Apparently another assassin," she said with a grimace. "Personally, I'd rather face a gun than a variant of smallpox."

Melissa huffed, "Sounds like you're going to get plenty of chances."

Satomi didn't answer her, finding herself unable to look away from Derek's face. When he noticed, she smiled slightly, "Sorry. I just noticed how much you remind me of Talia. I used to visit her a lot, you know. Do you remember me?"

Derek thanked her silently, running his thumb over Marissa's baby bump. "I remember the tea. You always brought that tea that smelled terrible."

Satomi smiled with a slight attitude, "I brought that tea as a gift. Your mother loved it."

Deaton suddenly cut in, "What kind of tea?"

"What?"

"The tea with the smell, what kind was it?" Deaton urged her for an answer.

"Reishi. Wild purple reishi. It's very rare," she answered, not entirely sure why it was significant now.

"It's also a very powerful remedy for sickness," Deaton revealed, an idea perking up in his head. "Satomi, you didn't get infected because you've been inoculated."

Melissa perked up at the hope for an antidote for her son, "Okay, okay. How rare is it? Can we find it?"

"We don't have to," Derek said. "My mother kept some of it. It's in our vault."

* * *

Malia was laying on Kira's lap, while Beth, sitting up finally, kept her eyes on Scott as he was constantly leaning over, growing paler and weaker. Malia put her eyes in the pockets of Stiles' jacket to warm her hands but encountered a folded-up piece of paper. She pulled it out curiously, starting to unfold it.

When Scott noticed, he started to panic, trying to stand, "Malia..." and go to her, but he couldn't. Beth didn't understand what he wanted but helped him stand anyway. Scott walked with piercing anxiety as Malia opened the list and peered at it. "Malia?"

Malia's eyes were wide, and her breath was coming out faster and heavier as she stared in his general direction, but not focused on them. "I can't see. I can't see anything."

Scott let out a choking sound, leaning heavily on Beth's shoulders as he reached out a hand in front of his eyes, watching as it became blurry and faded in and out of sight.

* * *

Stiles was tearing apart Coach's office for answers. There had to be a reason that he was the only teacher who got sick. There had to be a common denominator between him and all the sick students. But what?

When he found nothing in the storage, he sagged into Coach's desk chair, staring at the clutter. He started flipping through a pile of permission slips, stamped with large red letters 'APPROVED' over and over again, on blank slips. It was just like Coach to go ahead and approve nothing. But Stiles paused when he saw the words go from red to black. He must have run out of red ink for the stamp and gotten some black ink. His eyes lifted up to Coach's mug and saw that there were black fingerprints there. It looked just like the ink they had used to give their thumbprints for the PSATs. An extra measure that Simon had implemented. Simon was the assassin. He made this infection.

"I was wondering how that idiot got sick," Simon's voice startled Stiles enough to jump to his feet. But he stood there with a cool casualness that creeped him out. "I'm also wondering where your friends are. Since in order to get paid by the benefactor, I need to have proof they're dead."

"Visual confirmation," Stiles whispered with a shake in his voice.

Simon casually screwed a silencer onto a large handgun, and drawled, "Exactly," as he pointed it at Stiles' head.

* * *

Coach suddenly shot up from his supine position, panting harshly, looking around his plastic bubble, "What the hell is going on?"

Sydney was breathing easier, sitting up on her own bed. Natalie stared at her now clear arms, "The lesions are gone."

Sydney sighed in relief, "Can I take the test again now?"

Natalie chucked at the girl and went to check on others, just to see that everyone was waking up and growing more alert. "They're getting better. They're all getting better."

* * *

Jessie was anxiously waiting for something to happen. For the CDC to find out what they were dealing with or have a cure. She was distracted from her own worries when she had to calm Liam down from shifting or stop Georgie from trying to get into the school. Nuala helped, but she was still trying to call her sister to see if Deaton knew anything. But the CDC had knocked out the cell towers.

She trained her ears for inside, but she couldn't locate Scott or Beth or the others over all the school. She just hoped and prayed and fought the instinct to break the walls down. She wanted them to walk out and be okay.

* * *

"Still a bit feverish, Mr. Stilinski," Simon commented as he led Stiles into the locker room at gunpoint. "But you should know something, the virus doesn't kill humans, you'll get better. So, don't you think you should tell me where they are? Shouldn't one of you get to live?"

Stiles walked in front of him, face stone, "I think I saw them in the library. Or it might've been the cafeteria. It was definitely one of those two."

"I'm going to count to three, and then I'm going to kill you."

Stiles bravely turned on Simon, asking, "Think you can scare me?" For a second, he looked like the Nogitsune again. Vicious, challenging, enraged.

Simon smirked, "No, I think I can kill you. I just thought the countdown would make it more exciting. So..." he pressed the muzzle of the gun flesh with the skin of Stiles' forehead.

Stiles stared at him for a moment before he closed his eyes – ready for the end. He'd been a hair away from certain death many times before. With Peter. With Gerard. The Alpha Pack, Jennifer. And certainly, when the Nogitsune took him over.

"One..."

But he had gained so much over the years. He always had Scott, but then they'd gotten Jessie. And developed a friendship with Lydia. And the others. And above all, he – Stiles Stilinski – found his soulmate. Something he wouldn't have thought existed two years ago. But he loved Georgie with all his heart. And his only regret at this point was that he wouldn't see her again.

"Two..."

A gun shot raced through the air, momentarily blowing out his eardrums. He flinched when instead of sudden and abrupt death, he felt something cold splash over his face. He opened his eyes, his whole body shaking in fear and shock as he saw Simon fall to the ground with a gunshot wound in his head.

Behind the teacher, Rafe walked into the locker room from Coach's office, donning his own yellow hazmat suit, gun poised in front of him, having just shot down the man holding a gun to his son's best friend.

Stiles panted harshly as the reality that he wasn't dead set in, "Where the hell did you come from?"

Rafe didn't have the luxury of checking in with him before he marched up to Stiles, urging the boy to listen, "Stiles, listen. I got a call from Melissa. I don't know what it means. She said there's an antidote. It's in a vault, reishi mushrooms."

"Wait, what in a vault?" Stiles asked, confused by how fast everything was happening.

"It's in a jar on one of the shelves. She said to tell Scott, it's in the vault," Rafe yelled, urging the boy to leave and save his son and his friends. Stiles finally understood what he was saying and cursed the irony of their situation as he raced away to the basement. Of course, their salvation would be locked in the vault, right under their noses, with potentially incapacitated were-beings.

* * *

"I have to get to the school," Derek insisted, giving Marissa a kiss before he tried to leave.

Satomi followed him out into the hall, "What about the others at Lookout Point?"

The elevator at the end of the hall dinged as the doors opened. And inside was a blonde woman with a glare on her face as she produced two handguns and opened fire on them. Derek instantly dodged and shielded Marissa against the wall as she screamed briefly.

Satomi didn't pause before she produced her thin blade weapon from her sleeve and advanced on the assassin, dodging each and every bullet ringing through the air like she walked out of Matrix. She swiped the guns away from aiming for them and stabbed the sharp pointed blade into the assassin's neck. She watched with a rapt satisfaction as the woman choked on her blood pouring out of her throat before she fell to the floor with a thump. With a small smile, she wiped off her weapon and turned to the gaping people behind her, "I may have learned to control my anger, but I still know when to use it."

* * *

Beth was startled when she heard a slight thumping against the wall where the door was. And then Stiles shouting, "Hey, Scott? Scotty? In the vault, in there with you. It's called reishi mushrooms. Scott?"

Beth saw that Scott was nearly fallen over, too weak to get up, and eyes vacant. He, along with Kira and Malia, couldn't see a thing.

Beth grunted and breathed harshly as she fought her own fatigue to get to the door. Her lesions had started to fade, but she still felt so tired and weak.

"Scott, open the door!"

"They can't move!" Beth shouted through the stone, reaching to try and pull the door open. But it was too heavy, and she was too weak. "I can't open the door."

"Okay, then you need to get them the antidote. It's in there with you. It's in a jar, it's on one of the shelves!"

"I think I saw it earlier! I think I know where it is!" she called back, voice feeling hoarse. She stumbled to the shelves she had originally fainted against earlier.

Unfortunately, she tripped on her way, knocking over some other things with a sharp clatter that started Scott next to her.

"Beth..." Scott panted.

"Beth!" Stiles shouted, voice panicking.

Beth stammered as she picked herself up against the shelves, "I'm okay! I'm getting it!" She felt just a little strength returning to her – she would say it was adrenaline later – as she reached for the jar and pulled it down. She opened the jar and dust spat out. But it seemed like magical dust to her, purple and whooshing out into the air, almost right for Scott and the others. But she didn't stop, crawling on her knees to Scott's side and putting a slice of mushroom against his lips. "Scott, eat it!"

Scott weakly bit against the mushroom, the purple dust giving him a second wind of strength. Beth clamored to Kira with a mushroom for her, and them Malia, before returning to Scott's side as he started to stand up.

"Scott! Beth!" Stiles was shouting from the to her side, desperately.

Scott and the girls had a new life in them. Beth could see them breathing easier, their eyes focusing, claws receding, color returning. With a smile, she supported Scott to the door, so they could pull it open. And they both wheezed out laughter when Stiles jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around the two of them.

"Malia?"

Their relief was short lived when they turned back in to see Malia standing there with a blank expression, not even acknowledging Kira's voice. Kira tried to reach for her hand, but Malia's snapped onto her wrist to stop her. She was holding the piece of paper in her hand she'd dug out of Stiles' jacket, staring at Kira with a look that cut into her. Kira saw the list – the list with Malia's real name on it. With her eyesight back, she saw her name on the list – as Malia Hale. Dropping the paper to the ground, she ignored everyone calling her name softly as she walked out of the vault and left them all behind.

* * *

Jessie and Georgie were leading the group when the CDC finally opened the doors and lifted the quarantine. The Sheriff kept up with them, being the polite one, "Excuse us, excuse us. Pardon me."

"Mom. Mom!" Lydia shouted when she saw Natalie at the end of the hall, running to her and hugging her tight.

Natalie hugged her back with a relieved smile, "Lydia! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I was just... trying to get a little overtime."

Lydia laughed as she reunited with her mother and her bad jokes.

Jessie and Georgie and Liam watched the crowd with anxious attention, looking for Scott, Stiles or Beth. To see that they really were okay. After a couple agonizing minutes, Jessie's keen eyes finally caught sight of Scott with his arm around Beth's shoulders, walking lethargically down the hall from the direction of the basement. Stiles and Kira were just behind them. Jessie let out a relieved sigh before she shouted, "Scott! Beth!" before she ran for them.

Scott looked up when he heard his name and smiled when he saw Jessie coming. He urged Beth in front of him, to go first. When Jessie reached her, she brought her in for a bruising hug, "Don't ever let me talk you into electing to take a test early again!"

Beth laughed, hugging her sister tight, "I promise I won't."

"Beth!" Liam's voice called out.

"Stiles!" Georgie's voice followed.

With a blush, Beth pulled away from her sister in time to get scooped up in another hug by Liam. The beta werewolf didn't know his strength yet, so with flushed cheeks, he let go when Beth choked out, "Can't – breathe."

"Sorry – sorry," he said, embarrassed at his show of affection.

"What are you doing here?" Beth asked, confused at his presence, even if it wasn't unwanted.

"I heard about the quarantine from my dad," he confessed. "You mentioned you were taking the PSATs today, so... I came to see if you were okay." His face was growing more red. He was being so obvious with his crush on her. "And Scott. You know, all of you."

Beth grinned at him, "Thank you for coming, Liam."

With a less embarrassed smiled, Liam hugged her again.

Meanwhile, Georgie had rushed into Stiles' arms and fussed over him, "Are you okay? Your dad and the others wouldn't let me come in to find you. They said you wouldn't want me risking exposure to the disease, but-"

"They were right," he cut her off, cupping her face in his hands.

She frowned when she noticed specks of blood around his face. He wiped most of it off, but she still saw what must have happened. "Whose blood is that?"

"The guy who did all this," Stiles explained, as if to reassure her. "He used fingerprint ink to infect us, but I found out, so he had me with a gun until McCall came in and shot him. I'm fine."

Tears sprung to Georgie's eyes at the thought that she had come so close to losing him. "Stiles..." she started whimpering but got cut off with his lips – happily.

Jessie, as soon as she let go of Beth, was taking Scott into her arms, "Don't you ever do anything like this again! If you're going to almost die – I need to be with you!"

Scott chuckled at her candor and hugged her tightly, brushing his fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't think something like this was going to happen."

"You are no longer allowed to tell me that nothing is going to happen," she quipped, digging her face into his neck.

He laughed again and kissed her head. "Never again, I promise."

She pulled away enough to give him the most passionate kiss he'd gotten since they first fully confessed their feelings for each other – at the same time. He eagerly returned it, despite still feeling weak. They clung to each other tightly as they reunited, relief washing over all of them as this latest attempt on their lives was finally over.


	13. Compartmentalize

Scott was still at the station close to midnight following the quarantine. Jessie had taken Beth home, dropping Liam off on their way. Scott opted to stay with his dad, especially after hearing that he'd saved Stiles' life. He listened in intently as his father bagged his gun and ammo and recorded his take of what had happened earlier.

"Preliminary notes on firearm discharge incident. Assailant armed with sound-suppressor equipped Walther P88... Having heard the perpetrator's threat and countdown, I made visual confirmation of the barrel of the weapon pressed to the potential victim's head. Determining the danger to be imminent, I felt no other choice but to respond with the use of deadly force." Scott almost flinched at the sound of what his dad and best friend had gone through. But then Rafe walked out to meet him, "Thanks for waiting. I know it's late."

Scott pushed off the wall, "It's okay. It's not like I'm going to be going to school tomorrow anyway."

Rafe still looked guilty and disappointed. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to drive back to San Francisco tonight. I'll need to do a review at the field office. But I'll be back as soon as I can. I might have to miss the first game of the season."

"It's no big deal," Scott said. And really, compared to everything else, a lacrosse game didn't mean much.

"It is to me. I'm keeping my promises this time," Rafe insisted before a tense silence enveloped them. The older man found himself defending his actions, or explaining them as he'd say, "What I did, it was necessary. Justifiable. You know that, right?"

Scott accepted his words quietly. "Have you done it before?"

His father's face was grim as he slowly and admittedly nodded, "Two other times. It's not easy, taking a man's life, even when someone who forces you to do it."

"How do you deal with it?" Scott asked, honestly wanting to know how someone could handle taking another life, even in defense.

Rafe responded carefully, "You look at it logically. Without emotion. You compartmentalize."

Scott nodded thoughtfully, "How do you do that?"

Rafe snorted derisively, "I used to do it by drinking," before bringing his son in for a tender hug. When they pulled away and readied to leave for the night, he stopped them, "One more thing. When I do come back, we have to talk about some stuff. You and your friends, the way you guys handle things, it doesn't seem to faze you like it should."

Scott cooled his expression so as not to give anything away. He knew that it was possible he'd have to let his father in on the truth. He just didn't know how.

"It's like you guys know something I don't. Today is the one and only time I've ever seen your girlfriend close to panicking, and I bet that's just because you two were separated, and you were in danger alone where she couldn't get to you."

Scott had to hand it to his dad. He was a good detective if he picked something like that up so quickly. Jessie didn't like letting on her emotions in front of people she didn't know well.

"When I come back, I'd like to be in the know."

* * *

"Is three enough?" Kira asked as they congregated in the McCall kitchen and laid out three of their laptops.

"Depends on how many cameras they have. But I think so," Stiles muttered.

Beth hovered at her sister's side worriedly, "Are we really doing this?"

Jessie stated sternly, "We're doing it. Tonight."

From the other side of the counter, Liam asked, "But isn't it kind of dangerous?"

Stiles spoke up in his usual sarcastic fashion, "It's incredibly dangerous. And borderline idiotic."

"Have you guys done something like this before?" the beta asked curiously.

Stiles peered over at him, "Something dangerous? Or something idiotic?"

"Yes to both," Beth quipped, not liking their plan at all.

Scott looked over at Liam, understanding his fear. If he hadn't been putting such an effort into appearing calm and confident, he would be pacing the whole house. "You don't have to be part of it if you don't want to."

Liam looked over at his Alpha, determined, "I'm not scared."

"Then you're borderline idiotic," Stiles quipped, clapping Liam's shoulder. "If we do this, we don't know what's coming for us. You know that, right?"

Kira looked nervous as well. Possibly more so, since the whole plan hinged on her being able to use her powers correctly. "How do we even know something's definitely coming?"

Scott told her, "Because the tape from Garrett's bag said visual confirmation required."

"Simon said the same thing," Stiles said, shuddering at the memory of facing the chemist, as was his assassin title. Georgie grabbed his hand, holding on tight. "He couldn't get paid by The Benefactor until he had proof that you guys were dead."

"So, the idea is, what if you kill someone on the dead pool, but you can't send the proof?" Jessie posed for the group.

Beth guessed, "You don't get paid."

Liam frowned, "But how does that get us any closer to The Benefactor?"

"He still needs to know if the target is really dead," Scott explained, his hand reaching to cover Jessie's on the kitchen counter.

"Especially if it's someone high on the list," Stiles said, and everyone turned to stare at Jessie with a mixture of concern, worry, and fear.

Liam stared too, just as worried, "So, if he wants visual confirmation..."

Scott said, "He's going to have to come get it himself." He turned to Jessie, curling his fingers around hers, "It should be me."

"We've already discussed this," Jessie said firmly. "I make more sense."

"I still don't under that," Liam admitted, still slightly confused.

Jessie addressed the group, but mostly Scott, "Being a vampire means it's easier for me to get closer to death and come back. I'm technically undead anyway."

"But this will be dead dead," Georgie pointed out.

"I'm already cold, my heart rate is slow enough that it'll be easy for Kira to stop and start again without too much power, and I have a better chance of coming back," Jessie argued.

"But you've already died once," Beth whined.

Jessie gave her sister a tender look, "And I came back. I'm one for one."

"But we don't have any more pure vampire blood to save you if we need to," Scott said to her, not liking the idea of her getting so close to death again. He could barely handle it the first time when she did die. And for weeks he'd lived grieving her before he found out she was alive again. This time, they might not be so lucky.

Jessie intertwined their fingers, trying to offer him all the love and support she could with the gesture. "We don't need it this time. Once Kira restarts my heart, Beth will feed me blood, and I'll get my strength back."

Liam gaped, eyes bugging out, "You're going to  _bite_  your sister!?"

The levity of his confusion was enough to make the rest of them laugh. Beth giggled as she pulled a thermos out of her backpack, "No, she's not going to bite me. We already have some blood for her to drink."

Liam relaxed, blushing at his mix up.

* * *

When Noshiko finally arrived, Stiles, Georgie and most other than Kira, Beth, and Liam had left. They laid Jessie on Scott's bed upstairs and Scott blushed as she started unbuttoning her flannel shirt to expose her chest, consequently exposing her bra.

Beth chewed her lip at the foot of the bed, "Are you guys totally sure about this?"

Kira looked to her friend, "Maybe you should tell them it's going to be all right."

Jessie smiled wryly, "It's going to be all right."

Liam looked at Kira's mother, "So, you've done this before, right?"

Noshiko answered honestly, "I've seen it done."

"Is that just as good?" he asked.

"No." Honesty again.

Kira gave her mom a look, "Mom, you're not inspiring confidence."

"Good," she retorted. "This is a terrible idea."

"Do you want us to do it without you?" Kira dared her.

Taking the bait, Noshiko told Kira to, "Put your hand over her heart."

Kira tried to exude confidence as she hovered her hand over Jessie's heart.

"Hold on," Scott's voice stopped her.

Jessie groaned, "Scott!"

Scott ignored her to ask Noshiko, "What happens while she's out? Is she gonna feel anything?"

Noshiko delivered her answer to Jessie directly, "It might feel like you're dreaming."

"Good dreams or bad?" she asked, now curious.

"I suppose that depends on you," the older woman responded.

Scott looked gravely at his love, "Are you sure?"

Jessie nodded confidently, "I'll see you when I wake up."

Scott took her hand briefly, "I'll be the first face you see."

Once he backed off, Jessie gave Kira the final nod. Kira replaced her hand over her chest and let the electric current in her blood seep out through her hands. Blue lightning crackled around them, going into Jessie's body. Beth flinched and hugged Liam's side as her sister thrashed a bit, holding herself back, and then let out a loud, long, sharp gasp, before falling limp to the bed.

"We have to hurry now," Beth said.

* * *

Beth felt very real tears in her eyes and streaming down her face as she sat next to Jessie's cold body in the ambulance while the EMTs worked on her, the siren echoing shrilly through Beacon Hills as they sped to the hospital. She ran alongside the gurney they had Jessie on as they entered the ER, barely hearing what the nurses and Liam's dad were saying as they tried – in vain – to resuscitate her.

"We need ECG."

"She's flat-lining..."

Dr. Geyer ordered, "Get her to trauma 2. Start another IV."

Beth flinched when they ripped Jessie's shirt open and got ready to use the defibrillator. "Clear!"

Jessie's body surged up, but the monitor continuing to beep one long monotonous tone. "Still asystole," Liam's dad said. "Continue chest compressions and charge to 360. Clear!"

Jessie's body lurched again. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

"Nothing. Still asystole." The monitor continued to beep that single tone, with no change. It was chilling for Beth to witness. Dr. Geyer sighed, long and forlorn, sagging, "I'm calling it. Time of death 2102 hours." He turned his head to the crying girl and said, lowly, "I'm sorry."

* * *

It was surreal for Liam to put on a show in front of his father, especially under the circumstances. But it had to be done. And it didn't feel like a show as he rounded the corner to see Mr. and Mrs. Hansen demanding answers from his dad about what happened to their daughter while Beth sobbed into her hands. He started to jog the rest of the way, calling out, "Dad! Beth!"

His dad was surprised to see him rushing over, "Liam?" but understood once Beth wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.

Melissa walked over, accepting a hug from Paula and gesturing to her boss that he could leave. She could handle Jessie's grieving family between her and Liam. With a nod, to her and to his son, he walked off to carry on his rounds.

Once he was out of sight, they all stopped crying, but were still sniffing as they straightened up and followed Melissa into the morgue. Paula still whimpered and clutched her husband's hand as she wheeled him over to the slab that had their oldest daughter's body on it. She looked impossibly pale, even for her, with nothing but a sheet covering her up to her chest. Even her lips looked blue.

"I still hate this plan," Paula said.

"She looks dead," Hunter said, his voice choked, but he tried to swallow it away.

"She's not," Scott tried to assure them. "Not really."

Noshiko reached for Paula, "Give me your hand." Warily, Paula obeyed, and Noshiko pressed her hand over Jessie's chest. Paula winced at her cold skin, without a lick of warmth or beat. "It's okay. Wait for it."

After another moment, Paula let out a wheezing sigh of relief as she felt the single slight thump of Jessie's heart. "Oh, thank god."

"Is that enough to keep a vampire alive?" Melissa asked.

Noshiko nodded, "Vampires are resilient."

Hunter finally looked away from his daughter's face, "How much time do we have?"

"Given her unique nature, it could be longer, but we don't know for sure," Noshiko answered slowly. "But we're going with what would be the case for anyone else – forty-five minutes."

Hunter stared at her, not knowing what difference it made whether the heart was a vampire one or a werewolf one in this plan, but he didn't care, "What happens after that?"

Kira spoke up, softly, "I bring her back the same way."

Hunter shook his head vehemently, "No, I mean what happens if she stays like this longer than forty-five minutes?"

Noshiko stared at the teenagers, "No one's told them?"

Hunter looked at all of their faces, "What? What happens to my daughter after forty-five minutes?"

Noshiko frowned at him, regretting to tell him, "She dies."

* * *

_JESSICA HANSEN DEAD. PAYMENT REQUESTED._

Stiles blinked at Chris' laptop, "That's your assassin speak?"

Chris gave him a look, "I said she's dead. What more do you want?"

Stiles shrugged, "It was a little dry. Jessie's cousin went through all the trouble to find this darknet site and all. You could've said something like, "Target has been neutralized. The crow flies at midnight." That's always cool."

"Hmm..." Chris just hummed as the computer beeped with a reply.

_VISUAL CONFIRMATION IS REQUIRED._

Chris and Stiles both went for the keyboard at the same time, but Chris let the boy have his darknet fun. "Type this, 'Visual confirmation isn't possible. Police coming to claim body in forty minutes.'"

Stiles did so and sent the message, watching eagerly as the reply came through.

_VISUAL CONFIRMATION IS REQUIRED FOR PAYMENT._

Chris grimaced, "Tell him number one on the list is dead. I killed her. And if the wire transfer isn't completed in forty minutes..." He got ahead of himself and elbowed Stiles away to type the end of his threat for himself.

_I'M COMING AFTER YOU._

* * *

Connor and Gavin felt like they were entering a funeral home when they entered the morgue. They might as well have been, given all the long faces. Connor shook Hunter's hand, having met Jessie's family once the girl got her emotions back. "I'm sorry about all of this. But we're getting desperate to prevent very real deaths, and Jessie is the safest person for this plan."

"We know," Paula whispered. "But that doesn't change the fact that she looks very dead."

"Right," Gavin said, putting an arm around Melissa. She needed comfort too. She loved Jessie too. "It might be best if you guys go home. Put in the act of making arrangements. We don't know who or what this Benefactor is or how dangerous they'll be. Jessie wouldn't forgive you or us if you got hurt."

"She's the one laying on a cold slab of metal," Hunter argued. "I'm not leaving her."

"Dad, he's right," Beth said. "You're in a wheelchair. All they'd have to do would be to incapacitate us and you'd be a sitting duck. You guys can't help Jessie or be there for her after this if the Benefactor adds your names to their deadpool."

Connor added, "It is my job to protect Jessie. I won't let anything happen to her."

Hunter heaved a sigh, clasping his wife's hand, before he nodded. He looked at his youngest daughter, "You're coming home with us too. You're human."

"So is Stiles!" Beth argued, not willing to leave Jessie.

"His father isn't here to drag him home," Paula pointed out.

Beth sighed, "I can't leave. Jessie will need blood when she wakes up."

"You can give Scott the thermos and he can have her drink it," Hunter debated.

Beth grimaced as she reluctantly admitted, "Look, Jessie said that if she gets too close to actual death, then cold blood might not be enough for her to get back her strength. Strength she'll need to stop from slipping back into a coma or fight off whatever shows up to get visual confirmation of her death. She might need something... live. I volunteered."

"What?" this time, it was Liam cutting in. "You said she wasn't going to bite you!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Scott asked.

Beth frowned guiltily, "She didn't want to worry you. But she can't drink from anyone else. Werewolf blood is addicting to vampires. And she doesn't want to chance it with kitsunes either. My blood is safe."

"What about Melissa or Connor?" Paula asked. "No offense."

"They're fine as backups, but I'm a good blood type," Beth pointed out. "I'm O negative."

"But Jessie is O positive," Scott recalled behind her.

Noshiko's face was grim, "O negative is the universal donor. Her blood is Jessie's safest bet on coming out all right."

It took long stern looks and some more argument, but eventually Hunter and Paula agreed to go home, walking out with Melissa and Noshiko to put on a show while the other women were heading to watch the hospital entrance for the Benefactor.

* * *

"I'm here. You ready? Try it now."

Once Chris gave the go ahead over the phone, Stiles, Georgie, Kira, Liam, and Beth activated the computers and watched as the screens came alive with security footage of all the hospital camera. Beth sighed in relief, until her eyes caught someone eerily familiar in the section close to the morgue. She gasped loudly when she recognized them, "Holy shit!"

Liam looked at her in alarm, along with the others, "What? What is it?"

Beth jabbed her finger at the screen, "That guy looks just like Jessie's friend, Alex. But he's dead. Isn't he?"

Stiles muttered, "People don't stay dead in this town." He headed for the exit, "Stay here." When they went to argue or just follow, he turned on them and pointed at Beth, "Nothing can happen to her. Jessie would kill us, and Jessie might need her blood. Got it?"

With a new purpose, Liam nodded and stood faithfully at Beth's side, protecting her.

Stiles ducked out, but ducked right back in, looking at Kira, "You watch Georgie too, okay? Because – you know - soulmate!"

"Go Stiles!" Georgie goaded him out of the room with a blush.

Stiles raced down to the morgue, pushing open the doors in time to see a Mexican standoff between Connor and Gavin with their guns pulled, Scott with his fangs and claws, and none other than the ever-elusive Alexander Wolfgang.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Stiles asked loudly as he ran around the former dead guy to stand by Scott, guarding Jessie's body.

Alex rose his hands in the air, "Whoa – we're on the same side." He looked different, older. He was dressed in all black, and strangely a turtle neck.

"A lot has happened since we last saw you," Connor spoke, accent thickening. "Including you dying."

"I came to see Jessie," Alex said. "I heard she was pronounced dead. I came to save her."

"How did you hear she was dead?" Scott asked. "It hasn't been announced."

"I just know," Alex hedged. He seemed like a hardened version of the boy they'd seen just as desperate to save Jessie as they were when Jennifer hurt her. And just as devastated when their efforts appeared to have failed.

Stiles stepped forward, "Did you know she was on a deadpool? That some tool called 'The Benefactor' is paying assassins to wipe every supernatural out of Beacon Hills?"

Alex nodded slowly, "Yeah, I know. The list is pretty well circulated."

"Well, Jessie isn't really dead," Stiles said. "Well, she is – but we're gonna bring her back. It's bait. For the Benefactor. And who should show up? You! The guy we thought was dead for the months."

"You think I'm the Benefactor?" Alex asked incredulously. "I've seen the list. I'm on it."

Stiles shrugged that away with attitude, "How do we know that wasn't some kind of warning to Jessie that you were coming? Or just to mess with her head? Or just to get suspicion off of you when you decided to show your handsome face around here again?"

"It wasn't any of that," Alex said. "I didn't want to reveal to Jessie that I was alive too soon and bring up old wounds for her."

Scott cringed as he remembered the nightmare he'd woken Jessie from yesterday, how she described Alex's death. It had been rather traumatizing for her. "Where have you been?"

Alex swallowed and felt safe enough to lower his hands. "As soon as I woke up, I went to Portland. Jessie had already left. I knew how bad she was after I died, so I thought I'd give her time to move on. I've been tracking a witch called Hilda this whole time. She's still after Jessie. I'm trying to protect her."

Connor and Gavin wanted to ask who the Hell Hilda was, but Scott had been listening to Alex's steady heartbeat. "Fine. What are you?"

"That's a long story," he said. "It can wait until Jessie's alive."

Connor looked at his watch, "28 minutes to wait then."


	14. Hell

Jessie felt cold for the first time in so long. She rarely felt the cold anymore, being cold herself. And when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness at first. After a moment, her eyes adjusted, and she could see dark wood surrounding her on all sides. Feeling pin pricks of fear, she started pressing her palms against the wood above her, feeling it hard and unmovable. Near panic, she started to bang against the wood on all sides, dirt sifting over her from the small cracks. Part of her thought that this was real. That her friends thought she was dead for good and already buried her. That she was trapped living in her own grave.

Whimpering in her throat, her eyes glowed bright cobalt as she used all her strength to break the wood down. The dirt that cascading out nearly suffocated her, but now in full vampire form, she could hold her breath for a long while. She pushed herself through the seemingly endless Earth until she finally broke the surface. The room she broke through to was just as small as her coffin, cold and dark. It also seemed short, as she lifted her hand and felt cold marble. Summoning her strength again, she pushed against it, and found it giving. It was a lid. She pushed it, listening to the stone scraping against more stone until she tossed it over the edge, shielding her eyes, expecting sunlight.

When the light was soft, she poked her head up and gasped, seeing that she was inside her biological parents' mausoleum.

She crawled out of her new additional grave and stared at their names for a moment. She then turned her eyes to the lid she'd just pushed to the ground and saw her name carved into it.

JESSICA MALLORY SANGE TORVUS HANSEN

AUGUST 24, 1995 – JANUARY 22, 2013

Jessie gasped softly and backed away from her grave. But that was when she noticed that she wasn't the only new addition to her parents' mausoleum. Next to her was a newly sealed grave.

SCOTT RAFAEL MCCALL

SEPTEMBER 16, 1995 – JANUARY 23, 2013

She gasped harshly again, hand flying to her mouth, tears swelling in her eyes. And it didn't end there. There were more graves down the impossibly long mausoleum.

STILES STILINSKI

APRIL 8, 1995 – JANUARY 25, 2013

GEORGIE MARY MORTEM

APRIL 11, 1995 – JANUARY 25, 2013

DEREK HENRY HALE

DECEMBER 25, 1986 – JANUARY 24, 2013

MARISSA LORDES JUDE

MARCH 3, 1987 – JANUARY 24, 2013

BETHANY KATE HANSEN

MAY 8, 1997 – JANUARY 29, 2013

NUALA UNKNOWN

JANUARY 29, 2013

She even saw her adoptive parent's joint grave. And...

LYDIA LORRAINE MARTIN

MARCH 19, 1995 – JANUARY 31, 2013

Too overwhelmed to go on, Jessie ran for the door and banged on it until it gave, breaking the chains keeping the door locked. She stumbled out of the room, falling to her knees on a forest floor. When she looked up, she saw she wasn't in the Beacon Hills cemetery. In fact, it looked like the clearing in Portland where... Alex had been killed.

"Jessie!"

Jessie looked up with a new waved of tears – this time, happy – when she saw Scott running for her. "Scott!" she cried as she leapt to her feet to accept his arms around her. She cried into her shirt, "I saw your name on the grave. I thought you all were dead."

"I'm okay," he assured her, brushing her hair back. He cupped her face and passionately kissed her, as freely as possible, holding her tighter than she'd ever been held. It was reassuring.

So, when he was suddenly gone, it was jarring. Jessie opened her eyes to see Scott just ten feet in front of her. But he couldn't run to her now. He was being held by Hilda with her knife to his throat, just like she had held Alex before she had killed him.

"No, don't!" Jessie screeched, racing forward.

But before she even closed five feet, Hilda carved the knife into Scott's throat and let his body thump to the ground, his blood painting the forest floor. Hilda dissipated with an echoing giggle as Jessie skidded to her knees next to Scott and pulled his head into her lap. He choked loudly on his blood, staring up at her, eyes showing her the pain he was in. Because of her.

* * *

Noshiko and Melissa sat restlessly in the older kitsune's car outside the hospital, eyes trained on the rear-view mirrors to see who showed up. Noshiko watched a man walk through the front entrance, "What about him?"

Melissa checked the side mirror, "No, he's in here every week with a new self-diagnosis."

"Hypochondriac?" She asked.

"Prescription drug addict." Melissa let out almost a mournful sigh, "Why are we doing this? Why are we asking them to fight these kinds of fights?"

The other mother gave her an understanding look, "Because otherwise we'd be asking them to run and hide."

* * *

Stiles had returned to the surveillance hospital room, running the others through what happened with Alex before they went back to watching the tapes. After a few minutes, Liam noticed the panel that covered a hallway went static and blank.

"Is that supposed to look like that?"

Georgie looked at it first and curse, "Shit!"

Stiles frowned, "No. No, it's not."

Kira asked him, "Where is that?"

"The roof. Someone's gonna have to check it out," he said.

Kira readily volunteered, "I'll go."

"Wait," Beth cut in, "what if it's not just a malfunctioning camera?"

Kira gave her a confident expression as she pulled out her sword from her sheath, "That's why I'm bringing this."

As she went to leave, Liam made to follow, "I'm coming with you."

"Liam!" Beth exclaimed, grabbing for his hand.

He turned to her, holding her hand, "I'll be fine."

"Jessie says no one is allowed to say that anymore," she told him.

"I'll be careful," he amended, kissing her cheek before he knew what he was doing, and walking out after Kira.

Stiles called after them, "Okay. And you're both coming right back. Immediately." After they were gone, Stiles turned back to the monitors. After a few seconds, he smirked, and teased Beth, "Have the hots for the new werewolf, huh? Like sister, like sister."

Beth playfully smacked his arm, "Shut up."

* * *

Lydia looked around her grandmother's boathouse, trying to find some kind of clue as to what Meredith would have been doing at the lake house. She had never met or heard of Meredith until the supernatural started invading her life. Long after her grandmother had already died. It didn't make sense. She was at the bench table at the back of the boathouse when she heard the slight creak of the floorboards behind her. Thinking quickly, she grabbed an oar and swung it around behind her for her attacker.

But, her 'attacker' was her mother, who thankfully dodged the oar and let it swipe in front of her, both women gasping at the scare they'd just gone through. "Oh, God."

"Mom!" Lydia groaned. "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" her mother eyed the 'weapon' in her hands.

Lydia sighed and put it away, "Nothing. And how did you know I was here? Did you follow me?"

"No, I'm getting ready for the Open House tomorrow," Natalie blatantly fibbed.

Lydia rose her plucked eyebrow at her mom, putting her hands on her hips, "Mom, I already know that Connor McGarretty bought the cabin. Jessie told me – and we're all allowed to visit." It was true. Jessie had told her while they waited for the quarantine to be lifted that Connor made a bid for the lake house, $10,000 over the asking price. He thought it was the perfect place for them to get away from human eyes – or just humans that weren't in the loop – and also a great place for transformations, getaways, and the odd training sessions. He had promised to make extra keys for everyone once he got more secure locks.

Natalie grimaced at being caught, "Okay, I followed you. Honey, you come up here every weekend, sometimes even during the week, and as far as I can tell, there's no boy involved, so I really have no clue what you're up to."

Lydia shifted on her feet, thinking of the best thing to say, "I'm trying to figure something out. Something important. And honestly, Mom, you don't need to be involved in every single detail of my life."

"No," she admittedly agreed. "But I'd like to help if I can."

Seeing how earnest her mother was being, Lydia caved, turning around picking up the photo of Meredith to show her, "Do you know her?"

Natalie frowned at the photo, "Meredith Walker?"

* * *

Jessie gasped sharply as she woke up in the wooden coffin again. With a new albeit disoriented determination, she started ripping the wooden panels away. She choked on the dirt as she dug her nails into the Earth pancaked on top of her. She pushed her body through, digging her way to the dark surface. With a fresh wave of anger, she punched her way through the marble lid of her grave.

She nearly cried when she saw the graves of her parents, her sister, and all her friends lining down a seemingly endless mausoleum, sitting limply at the edge of her marble casket.

"Need some help?"

Startled, Jessie shrieked as she turned to see a gently smiling Scott at the door of the mausoleum. "Scott?"

He smiled at her, that favorite crooked smile of his, and nodded, "Don't you recognize me, Mrs. McCall?"

She gasped at the name but was still more disturbed by his grave next to hers. "But you're in there...?"

He stepped up to her, cupping her face in his hands. His skin was so warm on hers, and she relished in the contact. "I don't have to be," he whispered, the sound carrying over her like a blanket. "None of them have to be. You can bring them back. Even Wesley and Tanya. You can-"

His words were cut off as the sound of metal sliding through the air whooshed before he jolted forward as something lodged into his back.

"Scott?"

He stared blankly at her, blinking in pain, before he fell at her feet, his hands growing ice cold as they slipped from her face. She screamed when she saw the large tomahawk sticking out of his back. A heartless laugh made her look towards the door – now open – seeing Hilda there, hand still outstretched in front of her body. "All dead now. Because of you."

"NO!"

* * *

It was all they could do in the morgue not to panic when the power went out, plunging them into darkness. Stiles, Georgie, and Beth had also grown concerned, since the cameras went out too. They decided to make their way down to the morgue, so they'd at least have more protection with Scott and the McGarrety brothers.

They were rounding a corner when they bumped into Chris' back, startling him enough to pull his gun. Beth let out a loud screech that caused Scott to rush out into the hallway from the morgue. "What happened?"

"Just a heart attack," Beth panted heavily, holding her chest from behind Stiles.

Stiles regarded Chris and Scott as the hunter put his gun away, "The power's out in the whole building."

"We lost all the cameras," Georgie added.

Chris nodded after a thought, "Stay with Jessie. Text me if you see or hear anything."

The three of them nodded, walking back inside the room. Beth checked her phone timer – 18 minutes left.

Scott went back to Jessie's side like a magnet was pulling him there. He brushed his hand over her cold one. "She looks like she did – the last time..."

They all knew what he was referring to, but he could help but get himself pulled into the painful memories.

_"Jessie?"_

_"Derek!" Scott had felt like time was moving too slow as he and Derek had raced to Jessie in the distillery in the wake of Jennifer's demise. Scott had kneeled over her and brushed her hair back, "Jessie, wake up!"_

_It had looked so difficult for her to open her eyes, even a little. "I'm sorry, Scott. I'm so sorry."_

_"What happened—you weren't that hurt, were you?"_

_As she had sluggishly pulled her jacket away from where she held it over her abdomen, revealing a thick piece of wood from the crate sticking out from her chest where it stabbed through her, he remembered feeling like losing his lunch._

_"Hold on, Jessie," Scott had begged as he held her. "Just for a little while. We'll save you."_

_…_

_When he went to say goodbye, his heart had constricted when he saw her laying on the table, limp as a rag doll. Her chest falling rapidly up and down, breaths wheezing out of her mouth painfully. Her eyelids had been falling down but her eyes had fallen on him, looking unfocused, "...Scott..."_

_"I don't regret a thing."_

_When Alec and Connor had come with the vampire blood, the whole group held their breath to see if she would breathe again. Scott had felt the fear of God in his heart when her body had started seizing and she started screaming. And again, when she had suddenly dropped, motionless._

_Scott had listened for her heartbeat, feeling his heart practically skip a beat when her heart slowed to a stop._

_"Her heart isn't beating anymore..."_

"Scott?" Connor's voice startled him. When he saw Scott at attention once more, he clapped a hand on the young Alpha's shoulder, "We'll wake her up in time. No matter what. She's come back to you this time."

Scott stared down at her face, "She has to," remembering their last private moment before they went through with this plan.

_Jessie had been lying on his chest in his bed, smiling as he ran his fingers through her hair. "It's a good plan. You're not worried, are you?"_

_Scott had murmured, "Just thinking."_

_At that, she had lifted her head from his chest to look at him, "What about?"_

_He had looked into her eyes, "That we've never actually been on a real date."_

_She had given him a look, "Between everything and my stubborn denial, there's been no time for stuff like that."_

_"We could make time now," he had suggested._

_She had started tracing little designs along his shirt on his chest. It had given him goosebumps, and not just because of the temperature of her skin. "Always one to preach enjoying the good things in between the bad, huh?"_

_He had grinned at her words, "Something like that."_

_She had pursed her lips at him, smiling widely, "You might be onto something though. We could have a movie marathon. If you don't see Star Wars sometime soon, Stiles might develop an ulcer."_

_He had not laughed as boisterously as he had in that moment in months. "That sounds like a plan."_

_"It's a good plan," she had said before kissing him._

* * *

Noshiko had a permanent frown on her lips as she and Melissa marched through the dim hallways, "I'm guessing the power doesn't go out often in this hospital."

"Only when under attack by supernatural creatures," Melissa quipped.

The women both frowned when they got to the room with the computers, seeing it abandoned. Melissa ran around to check the timer Stiles set up on one of them. Only 16 minutes left.

* * *

Stiles was pacing the length of the morgue, phone at his ear, "Come on, come on. Answer the phone. Answer the phone, Argent. Come on, Argent, answer the phone. Why are you not answering the phone?"

Suddenly the doors busted open, Chris' body flying through and landed in a heap on the floor. He groaned in pain as they others reared up, Connor and Gavin pulling out their guns. Scott and Stiles were surprised when Alec pulled out an ax from his back that they hadn't noticed before.

Chris grunted, shouting, "I was right. Get out of here."

Kate, of course, marched in, leather boots and all, "Get out of the way. I'm taking the body."

"Why? Visual confirmation?" Stiles asked, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. Bethany shuddered as she shrank behind Scott's back.

Kate smirked, "Don't worry, handsome. I'm not The Benefactor."

Chris stood, blocking her sight of the teens, "Then what do you want with the body?"

"I wish I could tell you," she said, advancing on him. She was taken aback when Chris folded her arm behind her and held another gun from his back to her chin. She smirked, "I always forget you carry two."

* * *

Malia didn't plan on running into Peter so soon after figuring out the truth. She had gone back to Hale vault in search for answers about her adoption, about what happened when she was born. She had found the file on it in Peter's vault, but of course he had to show up and force conversation. She was justifiably angry.

"You murdered people. Not killed. Murdered," she emphasized.

"There were extenuating circumstances," he justified.

Malia looked skeptical, keeping her cool. "Like what? The fire?"

Peter nodded, launching into his self-serving rant of woes, "A fire that nearly burned me alive. Six years in a coma. Do you know what that's like for one of us? It's not a pleasant sleep. Imagine it. Being trapped in your body, but still being fully cognizant. Unable to do anything other than listen to your own thoughts slowly driving you absolutely and totally insane, minute-by-minute, day-by-day. Yes, I've done horrible, terrible things. And so have a lot of people. And horrible, terrible things are going to keep happening. Especially when there's a dead pool with your name on it."

"But not yours," she pointed out.

Peter pursed his lips as he admitted, "True. But I am not The Benefactor. I'm just a guy who's out millions of dollars. A few thousand of which I used trying to help you."

Malia rose a brow at him skeptically, "Me?"

Peter nodded, putting on a friendly face, "How does the bad guy prove that he's not so bad? By doing an act of kindness."

"What could you ever do for me?" she deadpanned.

She hadn't expected him to say, "Help you find your mother. I'm pretty interested myself as the memory was stolen from me by my sister, Talia."

Quietly, she replied, "Okay. What did you find?"

"A woman, might be her." He sounded so noncommittal. "I don't have a name yet, just a particularly interesting alias. She's called The Desert Wolf. Do you know what that means?"

Malia slowly nodded, stating confidently, "Coyote."

* * *

Natalie went to a shelf and picked up a sleek metal urn, handing it to her daughter, "These are your grandmother's ashes."

Lydia remembered out loud, "Grandma died in Eichen House."

She nodded, "Your father had a difficult relationship with his mother. But after the things she said, and the way she acted..."

"He thought she was crazy," Lydia realized, wondering if that's what he'd think of her if she told either of her parents the truth.

"Well, she said she heard things," Natalie defended.

Lydia looked around the boathouse, cautiously holding the urn in both hands, "Why did she want her ashes in here?"

"Well, actually, she didn't," her mother contradicted. "She left instructions to have them spread across the lake."

"How come you haven't done it?"

"Because she wanted you to do it," Natalie explained. "When you turned eighteen. Don't ask me why. But since that'll be soon enough, I suppose now is as good a time as any."

Lydia slowly unscrewed the lid and peered inside. But she didn't see remains. "Mom, these aren't Grandma's ashes."

Natalie frowned, "What do you mean? Of course they are."

Lydia reached a hand inside, pulling out a handful of dark black dust. She let it slide back into the urn, staring at the dark ash in her palm. "No. It's Mountain Ash." She reached back in for another handful, a theory working out in her mind, tossing the ash out towards the water. Instead of carrying out to the lake with the wind, it gravitated to a boundary line at the edge of the wooden floor of the lake house. Lydia let out a gasp as she looked around and realized, "The whole building. It's all made of Mountain Ash."

* * *

"Back off!" Chris ordered his little sister.

Kate chuckled, "You sure you can pull the trigger fast enough?"

"I don't want to," he admitted.

"You're not going to kill me," Kate smiled confidently.

Connor appeared behind her and cocked his gun at the back on her head, "But I don't have those qualms."

"You're not taking her body," Gavin added his gun into the mix from his stance next to Scott and Bethany.

From behind Chris, Stiles chimed in, "Okay, well, obviously, you guys have a lot to talk about, so, maybe I saw some coffee, a vending machine outside."

Kate snarled at him when he tried to move, making him freeze and Alex step in front of him.

"Listen to me, Kate. We have a plan," Chris tried to appeal to her.

"If killing the freaking Demi-Curore was part of it, you're worse than me," she retorted.

"No, he's telling the truth," Beth piped up.

"We're trying to get to The Benefactor," Stiles added.

Chris pressed his gun firmer to Kate's chin, "If you didn't notice, you're on that list too. And you're worth more than most."

Kate glared, "That's why I'm here."

"Then back off and let us do what we planned. Take the Berserkers, and go," he begged. Kate frowned when she heard a slight beep coming from his watch. She slowly reached up to twist his wrist around and peer at his watch, that had started counting down from three minutes.

"Kate, please. We have a plan."

* * *

Jessie gasped for air as she broke through the dirt, having come close to losing her air that time. She had to use all the strength in her arms and even her head to push the marble lid off her grave and onto the floor of the mausoleum. Her legs felt like jelly when she finally stood in the room, keeping her eyes averted from the row of graves beyond hers.

She frowned when she heard a choking sound, and something squirting. She walked around her grave and shrieked louder than ever at the side of Scott choking on his blood still freshly spurting out from his neck as he lied on the floor at the foot of their graves.

He stared up at her, unbelievable pain in his eyes that nearly pierced right into her, and choked out, "Why...?"

"HILDA!" Jessie shrieked as she knelt by Scott's side. She brushed his hair back, whimpering pathetically, "Scott..."

"It wasn't me," Hilda voice pierced the air. She sat crossed legged, grinning with satisfaction, on Scott's marble grave. "It was never me. It was always you."

Jessie almost gagged and lost all her air when she looked at her other hand and saw Hilda's bloodied knife in her grip. She looked back down at Scott as he gasped out, "Why – did you... do it?"

"No..." she cried. "No. I love you."

"Doesn't matter," Hilda sang. "Because of you. They all die because of you."

"NOOOOOO!" Jessie screamed, eyes glowing bright cobalt, almost blinding even her. Her teeth came out, her skin paled, her nails grew into sharpened claws, and the knife clattered to the marble floor next to Scott's blank dead face, not making a sound. She was still screaming, but she couldn't hear herself anymore. Tunnel vision set in around her eyes, zeroing in on Scott's face. Haunting her. Taunting her.

Visions of his eyes looking at her cut over the blankness of them. But that flash of an image was fleeting, and he was only dead. And all she could do was scream in the void.

A flash of his concerned face looked up at her. His lips mouthed, 'Jessie, wake up!'

But then he was dead again.

When she could hear her scream again, she was awake – in the Beacon Hills morgue, screaming herself hoarse. Her eyes started glowing for real, her nails biting into her thighs. They felt weak, breaking as they barely embedded themselves into her skin. Her teeth poked through her lip.

Those around leapt back. All except for Scott. He cupped her face in his firm hands and made her lock eyes with him, "Jessie, you're okay. You're back."

"You're dead!" she rasped, her speech lisping over her elongated fangs.

"No, I'm not. I'm here," he urged her to believe him. "We're both here."

Beth raced forward, reaching into her bag to pull out the thermos and handing it to Scott, "Make her drink."

Scott gratefully grabbed it and twisted off the lid, holding it to Jessie's gaping mouth. "You have to drink, babe. Please just drink and breathe."

Jessie almost gagged over the cold blood as it streamed down her dry throat. But she forced it all down, glad she had him to hold it up for her as her arms felt weak at her sides. Once she had swallowed it all, he pulled it away as she panted heavily and forced herself to calm down.

When her eyes were normal, as well as her nails and teeth, she smiled fondly at Scott's face. He kept his promise that he'd be the first she saw. He started to blush a bit as he tried not to look down. So, she did. And she blushed too when she noticed that he had to hold up the sheet to her chest lest she expose herself to the whole room. She took over holding it up as she laid her head on the crook of his neck, sitting up and looking at the others. "Did it work?"

By the crestfallen expressions on their faces, she knew the answer. But then she recognized a new – but not really new – face. "...Alex?"

The rough looking version of her friend smiled shortly and nodded in reply, "Hi Jessie..."

They were interrupted when Liam burst through the doors, panting a little, looking worriedly at Kira.

Kira frowned at him, "What?"

"It's your mother...She's hurt."

* * *

Dechtire and Nuala hadn't expected Malia to show up at their door, especially given her recent discovery of her real identity.

"Malia?" Nuala asked as she led the stone-faced coyote into the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Dechtire offered.

Malia nodded her head, "Water."

Dechtire got a bottle from the fridge and slid it over to her, "The others have been worried about you. Where have you been?"

"Talking to Peter," she admitted.

"You think talking to that mega-maniac is a good move?" Nuala asked.

"If he can help me find my mother, I don't think I care," Malia stated.

"Blood doesn't make family," Dechtire replied, stone-faced herself. "Blood doesn't make you like him."

"Maybe," Malia shrugged. "Maybe not. That night I caused the car crash..."

Nuala frowned, "The night of the full moon? When you were a child?"

Malia averted her eyes to the counter, "There's a part I didn't tell anyone about. Right before we got in the car, my mother... My adoptive mother, I guess... We got into a huge fight. I don't even remember what it was about, but... I remember what I said." She ripped open the bottle and took a gulp of water before she finally admitted, "I said, 'I wish you were all dead.'"

"Murder doesn't get inherited in a family line," Dechtire insisted.

Malia looked up at her, "Hunting runs in yours. Maybe killing does in mine."

* * *

Stiles and Georgie felt tired from their heads to their toes when they got to his house finally. "Do we really have to go to school tomorrow?"

"Well, you do," she quipped, knowing he had a quiz.

"Cruel," he muttered jokingly as they got ready for bed. He found his eyes drawn to his board again and again but ignored it. They didn't need to re-focus on any of that tonight. They had just successfully brought Jessie back from the dead – again. Even if the Benefactor never showed, they should count tonight as a win for them.

They had quickly brushed their teeth and washed the day off of them before climbing into bed. Stiles couldn't fall asleep unless he was in the middle at the beginning of their relationship. But when she started sleeping over, the couple gradually gravitated to their own, joined, middle of the bed. They looked into each other's eyes with smiles on their faces. Wide awake.

"I don't know how Scott did it," Stiles admitted, looking into her eyes. "I wouldn't even be sane or coherent if Kira had stopped your heart."

"It's a good thing it wasn't me then," she said, but she was touched by his sentiment. "I would be going crazy if it was you."

Stiles slowly leaned in, pressing his lips languidly against her, firmly cupping her face with his hand. They shifted closer and closer together until they rocked against each other. Georgie was able to push him onto his back and climb onto him, straddling his hips. As she trailed her lips down his jaw, he stuttered and panted, "You want to...? You – now?"

She giggled under breath at his stammering and kissed his lips again, "Yes. And now. Because I love you, Stiles."

He eagerly cupped her face and brought her lips back down to his, "You are perfect."

* * *

Kira walked back into Jessie's hospital room, seeing Scott and Beth at her sides. Everyone else had gone home. Hunter and Paula were just driving back. "My mom's being taken to a hospital in Palo Alto. They actually put her in a helicopter."

"But she's going to be okay?" Beth asked, concerned.

Kira nodded, but was still frowning, "Yeah. She just doesn't heal like she used to. I need to be there with her. Especially if she's still on the list."

"Of course," Jessie rasped. "Go. I'm stuck here for the night. They want to do a bunch of tests since I was kind of officially dead."

Kira nodded, "I guess Liam's dad has a lot of questions."

"The whole town will probably have a lot of questions," Scott theorized out loud.

Kira gave Jessie a hug before she left. "I'll see you later."

Beth's cell phone dinged, and she pulled it out, "Mom and dad are looking for a spot to park. I'm gonna go meet them at the front."

"Okay, Beth," Jessie bid her sister as she walked out. With a tired sigh, Jessie shifted onto her side, training her face on Scott's face as he sat at her bedside. "I wish it had all worked. It was a good plan."

Scott pursed his lips in thought, "I've been thinking about that too. And actually, I think maybe it did work. Not that I know exactly who The Benefactor is, but we might know a lot more about him now."

Jessie's brow furrowed together, "You guys said no one came..."

He nodded, "That's why it might have worked. Think about it. Who has the power to know when someone's dead, but doesn't need to see the body to know it happened?"

Jessie's eyes widened with realization, "A Banshee..."

He nodded, "Right."

Letting the information sink in, she accepted his theory with a nod as she laid her head down on the lumpy pillow. Seeing slight discomfort in her face, Scott automatically reached over to fluff it underneath her. "Why did you think I was dead when Kira revived you?"

Jessie froze, images of his blood spilling out of his throat haunting her. "Because I watched you die. Over and over again. It was Hell."

"It wasn't real," Scott told her, cupping her face in his warm hand. She relished in it, knowing it meant that he was alive and well.

"I want a dog," she abruptly blurted.

Scott had to stop himself from chuckling at her outburst, but still quirked up a smile as he asked, "What?"

"You told me about your dog, Roxy, and how much you miss her," Jessie started telling him her thoughts as they came in. "And I've thought about it, and I love dogs, and I want one with you. Not now, obviously, that would be insane. But in the future."

He softly stroked the curse of her cheek with this thumb, smiling fondly. "What kind of dog?"

"A Husky, of course," she said. "They look like wolves." They laughed together at that. "Or a German Sheppard. Something big and strong, that can hold their own. I also want to go to the same place when we go to college."

He stared at her, wondering where this was all coming from. But in Jessie's head, his words from the mausoleum rang, 'Mrs. McCall'... "And I want to visit Beacon Hills during every break. And I don't want to lose track of anyone once we start spreading out. And I want to live with you – forever. I want to be with you, Scott. Forever."

She was slightly gasping when she finally stopped. And she blushed at how she must have sounded to him, just spilling all of that out. But he was smiling, eyes almost glowing, still holding her face. Not running away. And as he leaned in to kiss her, she smiled when he whispered, "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Natalie pulled a folded piece of paper out of a box of Lorraine Martin's things and handed it to Lydia, "This was the last thing your grandmother wrote down before she died. Don't even know why I kept it because it's basically nonsense."

Lydia stared at the paper in abject horror. It was a series of letters and numbers, looking almost identical to the code of the deadpool she had typed out without knowing it. "Are you absolutely sure Grandma's dead?"

Natalie frowned at her daughter's odd, and disturbing question, "Yes. I mean, she has to be."

"This isn't nonsense, Mom," Lydia looked at her. "It's code."


	15. Amateur

Jordan felt a tight something cutting into the skin of his wrists when he woke up. He didn't know how long he'd been out. What had he been doing? What could he remember? He was at work. He was on patrol, perhaps. It was all hazy now. He was still in his car, and he saw his hands bound to the steering wheel by zip ties. He gingerly tried pulling them away as he woke up more. But he could hear some sort of splashing sound around his car. But when he peered out, he saw an empty parking lot, and someone dousing his car with something. When the putrid smell reached his nose, he flinched and started panicking – it was gasoline.

"Hey! Hey, what are you doing?" No one answered, just continued splashing the gasoline against the rear of his car. "Listen... Listen to me! I'm a Deputy with the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department..."

Suddenly his partner, Haigh's, face appeared in the open passenger window, "Damn. I was hoping you'd be out longer."

"Haigh?" Parrish frowned when he recognized the other police man. "What the hell? What are you doing?"

Haigh just continued tossing gasoline from a red bucket onto the windshield. "You're a good guy, Parrish. But the list says you're worth five million dollars."

"What? I don't know what you're talking about," Jordan tried to feign total cluelessness. "Haigh, listen... I mean, I barely make $40,000 a year."

Haigh stopped, but it didn't look like Jordan had gotten through to him or anything. He was frowning. "I only make 36."

When Haigh started tossing gasoline right on him through the driver's side window, Parrish gasped and yelled, "Haigh, please! Just stop! You don't have to do this. Look, if you're having money problems..."

Haigh just laughed cruelly, "You're worth five million dead, Parrish. Sounds like you got the problem."

"Please... Please, don't do this!"

Haigh tossed the now empty red bucket away and stood off to the side. Jordan stared at him incredulously, "You're just gonna stand there? You're just gonna listen to a fellow Deputy burn to death?"

With a smirk, Haigh put some earphones into his ears and clicked his lighter on, holding it away from him. With a simple flick of his wrist, he tossed the lighter into the car, and it immediately spread throughout the whole thing.

"Haigh, wait... No, wait! Wait!" Jordan screamed as he was overtaken by the flames.

* * *

Georgie screamed in her sleep next to Stiles, shooting up into a seated position as she woke up. She screamed again when she saw her hands alight with flame. "STILES!"

Her boyfriend quickly woke up and let out a yelp when he saw the comforter was on fire, stumbling out of bed and ripping it off. He tossed it into a ball on the floor and stomped on it until the fire was out. But he still tried not to panic when he saw that Georgie's hands were still on fire. "What's happening? What's wrong?"

"Someone's in trouble," she whimpered. "It has to be Sonia."

"Sonia's fine, she's in the nemeton, remember?" Stiles carefully knelt in front of her on the bed, careful not to touch her. "Breathe, baby. You need to calm down and make the fire go away, okay? I'm fine. Sonia's fine. You're fine. We're all fine."

Georgie took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. She repeated it a few times before the fire finally simmered away. "I'm sorry..."

Stiles shrugged, "I didn't like that blanket anyway."

She giggled at his attempt to cheer her up and accepted his hug. They held each other for a bit before his cell phone went off. With a groan, he reached for it to read the message. "It's Lydia. We gotta go."

* * *

"It's not just that she could still be alive," Stiles was telling his dad as he, Georgie, and Lydia followed the Sheriff into his office.

Lydia added, "It's that she would've had to fake her death."

Sheriff Stilinski was increasingly confused, "Your grandmother, Lorraine Martin, faked her death?"

"Definitely," Stiles said.

"Maybe," Georgie and Lydia corrected together.

"More than likely, yes," was as much as he was willing to amend.

"What does Lorraine have to do with forest fires?" Stilinski asked, a bit exasperated.

Georgie shifted on her feet, still nervous after her freak out, "Just – have there been any fires in the woods reported?"

"No, I checked," he told her. "Why?"

Georgie sighed, "I sort... set the bed on fire this morning."

Lydia and the Sheriff both looked at her with alarm. "What?"

Georgie blushed as Stiles put an arm around her, "Just the blanket. I put it out. Her powers came out of her hands while she was sleeping."

"It's a warning that someone in my coven is hurt, or in danger," Georgie said. "That's the only reason it happens. And Stiles was fine right next to me. So, it could have only been Sonia."

"But she's in the Nemeton..." Lydia murmured.

"Yeah, so I'm still a bit on edge," Georgie said. "But let's get back to Lorraine. At least we know something there."

"I'm guessing you got a story to back this up?" the Sheriff asked.

Lydia grimaced, "She might be helping The Benefactor."

"Or is The Benefactor," Stiles added.

"That sounds like a story worth hearing," he said as he closed the door. Once they explained how their theory worked, Stilinski knew he'd need more help on hand for this. But when he looked outside, he saw Parrish's desk was empty. He went to the door and poked his head out, "Anybody seen Parrish? Haigh?"

Haigh just dumbly shook his head, "Haven't seen him."

When the Sheriff closed the door again, Georgie spoke up, "Isn't that weird? He's the best deputy you've got, why wouldn't he be here?"

The Sheriff went to answer when they all heard some commotion outside. They peered out the office window to see Jordan, nude except for the tatters of his pants, skin blackened by ash, holding Haigh by his throat against the wall.

"You're dead," they could hear Haigh choke out.

Georgie squeaked when Jordan tossed the other deputy on the ground and held his hand with his gun down while he punched the living daylights out of him.

Stilinski pulled his gun and ran out of the office, "Hey. Hey!"

But during the struggle, Haigh's gun went off, clipping Stilinski's shoulder. He fell to the ground with a groan and Stiles rushed to his side, Georgie right behind them.

"But you're dead!" Haigh grunted as Parrish kept punching him.

"STOP!" Georgie screeched, watching the violence with wide eyes.

Jordan's fist froze up in the air, still poised to punch, and his blank face turned to her. Haigh still passed out from the pain, so her timing was a little late. But it still didn't make sense that he listened to her.

* * *

Once they booked Haigh, someone got extra clothes for Parrish and let him clean himself up. An ambulance arrived for the Sheriff, and Stiles went with him. Georgie wanted to go with as well, but Stiles asked her to keep an eye on Parrish. If he went psycho again, she might be the only one who could stop him like she did before.

So, she and Lydia brought him to Derek's after calling Jessie and Scott. The others met them there as they led Jordan through, ignoring most of his questions or answering them vaguely as Lydia drove them over. Once inside, Scott and Jessie were already there with Derek.

Derek inspected Jordan, ending with his hands. They hoped as the one with most knowledge of the supernatural, he'd have an idea of how Jordan survived being trapped in a burning car.

"He covered you in gasoline?" Derek asked, at a loss.

"It's the hair and nails, isn't it?" Lydia asked him. "The parts of the body that are essentially dead."

"Well, they should be gone," Derek answered her.

"I was set on fire," Jordan emphasized. "All of me should be gone."

"Not if you're like us," Scott reacted calmly. They knew Jordan must be something since his name ended up on the deadpool.

Jordan looked at Scott, perturbed, "Like you?"

"I don't think he's like us," Derek cut in, frowning inquisitively at the deputy.

"Then what is he?" Lydia asked, frustrated.

"Sorry, but I have no idea," he apologized.

Georgie tentatively spoke up, "What if he's like me? Fire wouldn't hurt me either."

Derek looked at her, "Wouldn't he'd have known? By age three?"

Georgie shrugged, "I was a late bloomer."

"By a year, not twenty," Jessie argued softly.

"There might be something in the bestiary," Derek commented. He looked to Scott, "Did you try Argent?"

Scott shook his head, "I don't know where he is."

Parrish finally spoke up, tired of being talked about instead of to, "Okay, hold on. What's a bestiary?" He paused, feeling overwhelmed. "Actually, that's not even my first question. Just... Just tell me one thing. Are all of you like Lydia? Are you all psychic?"

Derek chucked, "Psychic?"

Scott grinned and shook his head at Parrish, "Yeah. Not exactly."

Jordan looked at him expectantly, "Okay. Then what are you?"

Scott and Jessie shared a look before nodding to each other, they turned to Jordan and showed him their glowing eyes, red and cobalt.

Once they tried to give Jordan a crash course in the supernatural world, the deputy sank into the couch and asked, "What's a Kanima?"

Scott grimaced, "We'll get back to that. Just know that everyone like us, everyone with some kind of supernatural ability is on the dead pool."

"But I don't even know what I am," he pointed out, alarmed and confused.

"I'm pretty sure they don't care," Derek retorted.

Parrish nodded absentmindedly, "How many professional assassins are we talking about?"

Lydia sighed, "We're starting to lose count."

"Too many," Georgie added.

"But is it still just professionals?" Scott posed for the group.

Jordan looked around thoughtfully, "I don't think Haigh's ever tried anything like this. I think he was taking a chance."

"So, any amateur could get their hands on the list and take their chance," Jessie muttered, angered at the thought. "Maybe even other officers of the freaking law."

"But how did Haigh get it, and who else does? How easy is it to get this thing now?" Jordan asked, gulping at the severity of the whole situation.

* * *

Beth frowned perpetually, home alone, once again. Liam had seemed to be distancing himself since the night at the hospital. Her father was working at the hospital and her mother was baking up a storm at the bakery for a big event they'd been contacted to cater in the Bay Area. And Jessica was off dealing with yet another mystery connected to the Deadpool. One she hadn't really clued Beth in on. Beth was still reeling from the mysteries she did know about. Like the Benefactor. How many assassins were after her friends and family. And how Alex was alive when she'd been told he had been killed in Portland, months ago. But it didn't seem that anyone had any answers on that one, so she'd let it rest.

In her room, she stared at the now-bare cork-board tacked on her wall. It had once been covered with photos and certificates and cut-outs from magazines of her favorite celebrities. But now she'd pulled all of that down. The magazine cut-outs had gone in the trash while everything else was piled on her desk. She pulled out a new notebook and opened it up to a bare page and began tracing a head and shoulders onto it with a big question mark for a face. Above the bald head, she wrote 'The Benefactor.' She haphazardly ripped it out of the notebook and picked up a pin from her desk and tacked the doodle at the top center of her cork board.

She then grabbed all the print outs of the Deadpool list that she'd asked Stiles' to send her. She highlighted all the people they knew in yellow, with what they were written next to their names and what they were worth. She highlighted all those already dead in blue, and wrote who killed them next to their names. Idly, she scribbled questions marks next to Alex's name and the newest deputy at the Sheriff's Station's. She then tacked the list up on the board to the left and under the benefactor.

Soon enough she also had notes and profiles up of all these assassins they'd encountered so far, under to the right of the Benefactor. The Mute, the Orphans, The Chemist. It was all coming together. Like a big puzzle. If this was all she could do for now to feel useful, she was going to do it big and right. Maybe she really was Stiles' prodigy.

* * *

Lydia avoided meeting anyone's eyes as she forced herself to explain what she knew about her grandmother and Meredith's relationship. "Meredith was only at my grandmother's lake house once. But I think once was enough."

Derek asked from the table, "How did your grandmother know her?"

"She didn't," Lydia said. "She found her. Because of another woman named Maddy. The woman she loved." She pulled out a photo of a woman that looked like her and a brunette sitting closely next to her and handed it to Scott. She let out a sigh, "I never met her, but I saw her name everywhere. She used to be part of a yacht racing team. There were plaques and trophies in the lake house from all the regattas she'd won."

"How did she die?" Parrish asked from the couch.

"How's not the story. It's what happened right before," Lydia said, wandering over to the large glass window of the loft. "My grandmother, Lorraine, used to work in San Francisco for IBM. She was there on a weekend, catching up on work. She started hearing this sound... Like rain. But when she looked out the windows... All she saw was blue sky."

Scott guessed, "But she kept hearing the rain?"

Lydia nodded eerily, "And it just kept getting louder. Rain and thunder cracking like gunshots in her head. So loud. She finally just screamed."

"Like a Banshee," Jessie said.

"She called Maddy who was planning on taking one of the boats out on the lake. But Maddy said that the sun was shining there too. So, Lorraine didn't say anything," Lydia explained.

It dawned on them that something horrible must have happened to Maddy. Georgie asked, "But there was an accident?"

Lydia nodded, still staring out the window, "It took them four days to find Maddy's body. And then it took decades to figure out how Lorraine knew. She started with parapsychologists, like the PhD in their name made it more scientific. They built the study in the lake house according to every pseudoscientific theory they could find. None of it worked. So, then she started going to more extreme occult. Things like mediums and psychics. All of them were failures. Until she found Meredith. They found her in Eichen House. This fragile girl who didn't understand the things she heard. They brought her to the study. And they almost killed her. She was hospitalized for over a year. She... never really recovered. My grandmother drove her insane. I drove her to suicide. And all she ever wanted to do was help…" She trailed off, turning back to the group, "My grandmother created the code for the dead pool. They think she's the Banshee who put the names out in the first place. She left me this message in the same code."

Scott frowned, already knowing the downside, "But she didn't leave a cipher key, did she?"

Lydia met his eyes and sadly shook her head.

* * *

Once Lydia and Georgie opted to take Jordan back to the station, Jessie wandered up the winding staircase to check on Marissa. She found the older woman, her mother's old coworker, lying in bed, groaning. Jessie winced, "Derek said you were hit with a bad bout of morning sickness this morning. You okay?"

Marissa groaned, "Back with a vengeance. I thought this part was supposed to be over by the second trimester..."

"I hear every case is different," Jessie said as she sat next to her. "But it'll be worth it in the end, huh?"

A fond smile spread on the soon-to-be-mother's face, "We can't wait to meet her."

Jessie smiled, "It's still so weird to think of Derek being a dad. But I think he'll be good at it. Both of you. Have you been thinking of any names?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Marissa asked with a grin.

Jessie gave her a look. 'Really?'

With a soft laugh, Marissa said, "We're thinking of Talia, after his mom. We don't know about the middle name yet though."

"I think Talia is perfect," Jessie smiled.

Marissa nodded and sat up, sighing a bit, "We've been talking about raising the baby, somewhere other than Beacon Hills."

Jessie frowned, but with understanding, "It's too dangerous here for an infant."

Marissa nodded, "And Derek... he's lost all that makes him a werewolf. If he's normal, he can't protect me and the baby from all the things that come here."

Jessie took her hand, "Well, you have to do what's best for your family. And you have to keep in touch. We all need to see how a mini Derek Hale turns out."

Marissa chucked, "Deal."

* * *

While waiting for Jessie to talk to Marissa, Scott wandered over to the table, noticing a hand gun. Confused at its presence, he picked it up.

"Careful with that," Derek warned, walking over.

"I thought you didn't like guns," Scott mentioned. "Does this have something to do with your eyes?"

Derek let out a sigh, "My eyes, my strength, the healing... All of it."

Scott gaped, "Gone?" How was that possible? There used to be a time where Scott prayed for a cure. But this – whatever was happening to Derek – seemed not like a cure, but like a curse.

"Whatever Kate did to me, it's still happening," the older werewolf.

Scott frowned, remembering one small, terrifying detail they'd neglected to tell Derek. "If the dead pool really was made by a Banshee then there's something else that you should know about. Your name broke the third list. It was a cipher key."

Derek reacted calmly, putting the pieces together, "And the two other keys were Allison and Baako."

"And I... I don't want to make you nervous, but it kind of feels like there might be a pattern there, doesn't it?" Scott asked him. "Allison, Baako... You."

Derek nodded, "Names picked by a Banshee."

"It... It could mean that you're in danger," Scott told him, not wanting to think the worse.

"Scott, Banshees don't predict danger. They predict death."


	16. Frequency

Liam felt like he was walking through school with a target on his back. He couldn't get his mind off of what happened with his printer earlier. And he swore he could hear some kind of guttural growling.

"Liam!" Mason jogged up to him. "Hey. Am I gonna see you at the bonfire tonight? Uh..."

He trailed off when he saw Liam looked off down the hall, seeming distracted, and maybe even scared.

Liam felt his heart freezing when he saw the mirage of a beserker down the hall, unbeknownst to the other teenagers. He and Kira had fought it off on the hospital roof when Kate showed up. It had beaten him down so hard, he was terrified. But Mason's voice was still talking to him, so he forced himself to look away, "I'm thinking about skipping it."

Mason gave him a look, "You're not skipping."

Liam frowned, "Why not?"

"Because you're on the lacrosse team. Don't you have to go?" Mason asked, like it was a High School covenant.

Liam stuttered as the growling got louder in his mind, "I don't, uh... I... I don't think I can make it."

"You're coming," Mason said decisively. "And we're gonna find Beth so you can embarrass yourself in front of her and find me a lacrosse player. Because statistically speaking, someone on your team has gotta be on my team. All right?"

As the growling grew closer, Liam resisted the urge to take off running.

"Liam?"

Liam jolted, turning back to his best friend, "Okay. I'll be there."

* * *

Lydia sat at Stiles desk with her computer after typing out her grandmother's coded message. Georgie was perched on the edge of it, eyes trained on the burnt bedspread on the floor. And Stiles was pacing behind them, ignoring the beeping of his printer begging for paper.

"Try Maddy. It's got to be Maddy."

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Doesn't Maddy feel a little obvious as a cipher key?"

"I guarantee it's Maddy," he insisted.

Lydia sighed and typed 'Maddy' into the box. The computer beeped with an error message. It wasn't Maddy.

"Okay, your name. She left the code for you, right? So, it's got to be your name," Stiles suggested next.

Lydia typed in her name and got the same error message. It wasn't Lydia.

"Your mom's name?"

'NATALIE' – error. It wasn't Natalie.

"Do you have any beloved family pets?" he tried.

Lydia huffed at him, her eyes lifting to Georgie who was staring off. "Georgie? What are you staring at?"

Lydia and Stiles followed her eyes to the charcoal blanket. Stiles sighed and put his arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry about the fire. It's okay."

"It's not that it happened that has me thinking," Georgie told them. "It's why. You were fine. No forest fires so Sonia has to be fine. But... early this morning... Jordan was set on fire."

Lydia frowned, catching onto her meaning, "You think your powers came out because of Parrish?"

She shrugged, "The timing fits. So does the method. And that he couldn't burn. What I don't understand is why?"

"Maybe you were right and he's a witch like you," Lydia suggested, happy to be off her unsolvable problem for a moment.

Georgie shook her head, "No, he's something else related to fire. Derek was right, he'd have known if he was a witch before now."

"So, what do you think?" Stiles asked, eyes trained on her face.

"The only thing that would make me react to him like that is if he were part of my coven," Georgie explained. "And according to how it's supposed to work, a coven is blood or bond. Stiles, me, and Sonia. That should be it. Unless... there's another bond..."

"Like an unum bond?" Lydia guessed.

Stiles frowned, feeling a little jealousy in his veins, "Are you telling me that you think my dad's deputy is your soulmate too?"

Lydia huffed at him and smacked his arm, as Georgie answered with an amused voice, "Not me and him, genius. Him and Sonia. I think he's her unum. It explains why he feels like a brother to me."

"How do we know for sure?" Lydia asked curiously.

Georgie frowned, "We need Sonia for that."

"But he could get her out of the nemeton if he were her unum, right?" Stiles asked.

She nodded, "If we could find it." She lost her staring contest with the burnt remnants of the duvet and swiftly changed the subject, "Let's focus on the cipher, huh? Lydia, this code and everything else was all directed at you, right? So, did you and your grandmother have any inside jokes?"

"Yeah, what do you remember doing with your grandmother?" Stiles added. "You know, what was you guys', like, special thing? Did you guys go to the beach? You know, did you like ice cream or..."

The printer beeped loudly again, causing Stiles to curse and run around slapping a new pile of paper inside so it would shut up.

"We read," Lydia answered as he did.

"What did you read?" Georgie asked.

"The Little Mermaid."

Stiles frowned, "You read that movie?"

The girls both gave him exacerbated looks. "It was a book first. Hans Christian Andersen."

Stiles gestured wildly to the computer, "Type it in," not noticing the printer's quiet whirring.

'Little Mermaid.' It didn't work, giving her the same error message. She tried just 'mermaid' but that didn't work either. Lydia sighed in deep frustration, "We read it every night. I got so obsessed with it, for three months I wouldn't respond to anything but Ariel. It drove my parents crazy, but..." she trailed off as it suddenly came to her, "Grandma thought it was adorable."

Slowly, she typed in 'ARIEL' and the code came to life as if turned into a list of names, this time without numbers, with her grandmother's name at the end of it.

Stiles and Georgie leaned over her shoulder. "You recognize any of these?"

Lydia shook her head, "Just my grandmother."

Stiles finally noticed the printer spitting out documents as they fell to the ground. He bent over to pick them up and saw the deadpool. But it had been altered. "We need to call Scott."

* * *

Scott leaned against the lockers as the lacrosse team gathered in the locker room, looking up at Coach as he spoke loudly to them all. "All right... Now I know the start of season bonfire, it's a big deal for you guys. I also know it gets out-of-hand sometimes. The alumni show up, there's other teams, and alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol."

To his non-amusement, all the boys cheered. Except for Scott and Liam. Scott noticed Liam looking a bit fidgeting and upset during the meeting.

"All right," Coach tried to wrangle them, but they were still cheering. He shouted louder, "Shut up! Now, what I don't understand is why anybody would ever want to get stumbling down drunk in front of a massive open fire. I'm also resigned to not being able to stop you guys."

They cheered again, and Scott noticed with a frown that Liam got up suddenly and walked out of the locker room.

"I also remind you, your team captain, McCall, will be there," Coach warned them, sounding proud. "And I can count on him to narc on any and every one of these little bastards. Get back to class."

* * *

Jessie was glad not to have many classes as she wandered out of the building and out to the trees lining the field. "I know you're out there! Come out!"

With an almost guilty look, Alex appeared out of the trees. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

"Yeah, why didn't you just come tell me you were alive?" Jessie asked, hands on her hips. "And while we're talking, what the hell happened? You bled out!"

"I know, I don't understand what happened much myself," he explained. "One minute I was in the woods, the next I was waking up in a dark room. With Hilda."

"Hilda?" Jessie spat her name like venom. "She did this to you?"

"Look at me, Jessie," Alex told her. "Look at me like a grimm."

Jessie didn't know why he was asking her to do that. But she didn't ask questions. She focused on his face, walking as the muscles of his jaw tensed and then his face morphed, skin paling and decaying to a sickly gray color, with rotten holes in the skin and black pools where his eyes should be. He looked like a corpse. He looked like a hexenbiest.

Jessie gasped, hand flying to cover her mouth, "You're a sauberbiest?"

Alex flexed his jaw and reset his face back to normal. "I don't know how it happened, but it's something she did to me. Because it didn't undo what happened in the woods." He pulled the neck of his turtle neck down, revealing an angry red scar in the shape of a 'V' on his neck, right where Hilda had sliced his throat. Jessie whimpered at the sight, remembering that day. Alex set his shirt back to cover it, "But it did change me. I'm still trying to figure out what it all means for me now. But I haven't had a lot of time."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. He'd been gone for months.

"As soon as I woke up, she was there, telling me she was going to use me to take out a threat to us – you," Alex explained. "Whatever she did to me, was supposed to wipe out my whole memory, and my capacity to feel anything. I was supposed to be some kind of emotionless robot. A weapon. But I was still me."

"Have you been their captive or something?" Jessie asked. That would make sense.

But he shook his head. "I was for a couple weeks. But I escaped. I went to Nick's house first. It took a while, since I was being kept at some place in Canada. By the time I got there, it was obvious that you came back to Beacon Hills. And then Hilda showed up again. Waiting for me. She said with or without me, she'd kill you. So, I started tracking her, trying to keep her from getting you. A few weeks ago, she led me here."

Jessie remembered when they had gotten back from Mexico. How Beth had called her at night scared and creeped out by Hilda standing outside the house. "She came to my house. She scared the crap out of Beth. Why didn't you come to me then? Why did you hide from us?"

Alex sighed. "I didn't know how to tell you by then. So much time had passed. You have already done your grieving. And Nick and Monroe told me how bad you were after what happened. I didn't want to set you back."

Jessie stared at him. "Guess what, Alex... as horrible as it sounds, I am used to people dying. I'm even used to them miraculously coming back some way or the other. So, you being back isn't going to set me back. You being a warlock is a big shock, I admit. But – I'm glad you're back."

Alex sagged in relief and stepped forward to hug her. He had missed her, so much. "I'm not going anywhere ever again."

* * *

Scott walked through the hall, finding Liam sitting on some stairs. He approached slowly, speaking softly, "Hey. You okay?"

His beta tried and failed to hide how upset he was as his Alpha sat next to him. "Last night my printer went off by itself. I couldn't turn it off. I hit the cancel button. But it just kept printing."

"Printing what?"

They were cut off when they heard Coach shouting, "What the hell's this?" and both ran over to his open office to see that his printer was spitting out paper all over the floor.

Scott picked up a piece and saw it was the list. But it was different. He and Liam walked around the corner and Liam asked him, "You see the difference?"

"Derek's not on the list anymore," was Scott's first observation. But he didn't take solace in that. It had to mean something bad. Just like Lydia using his name as a cipher.

"And I'm not worth three million. It's 13 now," Liam jabbed a finger over his name. "$13 million."

"That's not all," Scott's eyes widened when he saw something else.

UNBORN HALE 5

"They added Derek and Marissa's baby."

* * *

Three angsty teenagers hovered at Jordan's shoulders at his desk while he ran the names from the latest list. "Well, it's not another dead pool. More like an already dead pool."

"All of them? All dead?" Lydia gulped.

Parrish nodded, "Within the last 10 years. All suicides. And all at the same place."

"Eichen House..." Stiles breathed.

"I really hate that place," Georgie sighed.

* * *

The bonfire party was in full swing as they lit up a metal and wood statue of a cyclone, as was their mascot. Scott walked through the crowd, trying to keep an eye out for everyone, as he waited for Jessie to arrive with Beth. The younger girl had insisted on coming, if not just to have a little fun before shit hit the fan again.

Scott watched the teenagers jump around and dance and drink and get rowdy. He remembered a time where he would have joined them without a care in the world. He also grimaced when he realized all the lacrosse players were wearing their jerseys, and he was wearing a dark button down. Oh well. He wasn't here to represent the team or get drunk. He was here to make sure everyone was safe.

He paused in his steps when he noticed Malia jumping in place and dancing erratically, drinking out of a flask. He carefully pushed through the crowd and walked over to her. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Getting drunk," she replied warily, but continued dancing. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to make sure no one gets hurt," he replied, concerned for her now.

She snorted, "That sounds fun too."

Scott watched her take another large gulp from her flask. "I don't want to ruin your night or anything, but we kind of can't get drunk."

Malia frowned, still dancing, but with less energy, "What?"

Scott nodded, it was true. "I think it has something to do with our healing. But, trust me, I've tried. You're not gonna feel anything."

"Maybe you should tell him that," she said, gesturing behind her with her head.

Scott looked over and saw Liam sulking on top of a picnic table, pouring something covered with a brown bag into a bottle of soda.

* * *

Stiles, Lydia, and Georgie sagged against the front desk of the Sheriff's station, trying to think of their next move. "Lydia, Eichen House isn't a library. You need a warrant to get files from there."

"My grandmother left me a list of 10 suicides, including her own," Lydia said. "There's got to be a reason why. Is there anyone there who's willing to help us?"

Stiles sighed as he thought of something particularly distasteful, "No. But there might be someone willing to take a bribe."

Georgie grimaced, "I really do hate that place."

* * *

Liam chugged his spiked coke like he hadn't had anything to drink for weeks. And then looked over to see Mason simply watching him from the bench seat. "Not gonna tell me to slow down?"

Mason shook his head, "Actually, I was gonna say, 'Keep drinking.' I think you should get drunk. And I mean stumbling down, fall on your ass, passed out with your face in a toilet drunk."

"Why?" Liam asked, raising his voice over the music.

"Maybe then when I ask you what's going on, you'll be too drunk to lie," Mason revealed. Liam looked away guiltily. He had always been horrible at keeping secrets, especially from his best friend. But this time was different. Mason gave him an earnest look, "I'm not asking this because I want to know. I'm asking because I want to help."

Liam stared at his bottle and saw it empty, standing up and starting to walk off, "I'm gonna get another drink. Yeah... I'm getting drunk."

* * *

"A thousand."

Stiles gaped at Brunski's gall. "A thousand dollars? To use one little key to open up one little file room? Are you out of your mind?"

Brunski just smirked at him, "When you get the keys, you make the price."

"We don't have that kind of money," Georgie argued, very uncomfortable being there.

He laughed and gestured to Stiles, "I know he doesn't. If he did, Daddy Sheriff would've paid the bill by now. That's why I'm talking to her." He looked at Lydia.

Lydia bit her tongue and caved, digging into her purse and pulling out her wallet, "I have $500." She took out the wad of money and handed it over. It was meant to go to the cleaners for the wine spill in her grandmother's study.

Brunski took it like it was gold, sniffing it lecherously as his mixtape ended in the background. He turned to replace it, and the teens all froze when the saw the exact type of tape Scott had found in Garrett's gym bag. They quelled their looked when the orderly stood, jingling the keys, "Follow me."

* * *

When Jessie arrived with Beth, she parked the car on the other side of campus – the quieter side – and had them walk. Jessie eyed the drunk masses of teenagers distastefully. As they got closer to the ground, the music rang in her sensitive ears, making her flinch.

Beth looked around until she recognized someone and pointed them out, "Jessie, look, there's Liam. I'm gonna go over, okay?"

"Good luck," Jessie said. "I'm going to find Scott."

"I see Alex," Beth commented, pointing by a lone tree.

Jessie looked over to see him, nodding at her. She nodded back and urged Beth forward, meeting up with Alex and they went to look for Scott.

Beth bit her lip a bit nervously as she approached Liam and Mason. "Hi boys."

"Beth!" Liam shouted at the same time Mason greeted her at a normal volume.

"Hi," Beth blushed as Liam stood.

"I'm glad you're here," he said, hugging her, stumbling a little. He pulled away, smiling. She bit her lip nervously at how intently he was looking at her. He chuckled, "You know, I hate it when you bite your lip like that."

She frowned, "What? Why?"

"Because it makes it so tempting to just kiss you," Liam confessed, almost like word vomit. "I've been practically obsessed with you since I got here!"

Mason stood up, going to rescue his bumbling idiot of a best friend. He hadn't really wanted Liam to horribly embarrass himself in front of his crush. He laughed nervously as he helped Liam stand up, "Don't pay too much attention to what he says. He's pretty drunk."

Beth frowned as Liam flopped down onto the table behind him. She tried to get him to look at her, "You're drunk?" but he looked pretty dizzy. She spoke quieter, so he could hear her but not Mason. "That's impossible. Werewolves can't get drunk, Liam."

He just giggled, "You're pretty."

She and Mason shared a look.

* * *

"You know, I think I always knew you'd end up with Scott."

Jessie hadn't expected Alex to say that when she walked up to him. "What are you talking about?"

He shrugged, "I'm just not surprised. You guys always had this deep connection, a bond. You were best friends pretty instantaneously. And that just built up to what you are now."

Jessie pursed her lips as they walked through the party. It seemed a lot of people saw what was between her and Scott before they did. Deaton, for sure. He made it sound deeper, supernatural. Georgie and Stiles had told Scott before he knew. Lydia had been waiting around for them to confess. Even Beth had called it. Was it so obvious, so palpable, that everyone felt it coming off of them before they had even shared their first kiss?

"Why are we talking about this?"

"I'm just saying I see what you two have is special," Alex said meaningfully. And suddenly she knew why he brought it up. He was telling her that he wouldn't do anything to get between her and Scott. That while he may have some feelings for her still, he just wanted to be her friend, he would move on.

She smiled, "Thank you," and could see Scott over his shoulder. "There he is."

* * *

"I just want to talk," Scott tried to get through to Malia.

"Well, I just want to dance," she said, continuing to do so.

"We had our reasons," he tried to appeal to her. "We didn't tell you about Peter..."

"To protect me," she finished. "That's what Peter said you would say. And guess what he said next? That you were right." She saw the look on Scott's face and asked, "Does that surprise you?"

Scott shook his head, "No. It makes me wonder what he wants. Malia, we need to stay together. You, me, Stiles, Jessie, Kira..."

Malia suddenly scowled, "I don't want to talk about Kira. I just want to dance. And get drunk."

Scott watched as she flopped around and jumped, "Malia..." she suddenly stumbled just as Jessie appeared to steady her, Alex following after.

"Why is she acting drunk?" Jessie asked as Malia burst into laughter. "How did she get drunk?"

Scott looked as surprised as she did, "But she couldn't have. It's impossible."

Malia pointed and sagged in Jessie's arms, "Is this what drunk feels like? It doesn't feel as good as I hoped."

Scott looked at her concerned, "I don't think it's supposed to."

Jessie picked Malia up some more firmly and looked between Scott and Alex. "Something is very wrong. Someone might be making a play for the deadpool. I have a feeling that includes Georgie and Lydia." She looked at Alex, "You need to go check on them. They went to the station to talk to Deputy Parrish."

"What about all of you here?" he asked.

"Alex, I have a feeling," she stressed. "Please go. I'll stay here and we'll handle whatever's going on."

Alex hesitated one second before nodding and running off to where his car was parked.

* * *

Georgie clutched Stiles hand as they walked with Lydia into the records room. Brunski cleared his throat loudly behind them, "Good?"

Stiles answered him, "Yeah. We can help ourselves." He walked anxiously as the orderly took his time leaving before turning to Lydia, "Uh, Lydia, you got the list?"

Lydia looked around, waiting for something to jump out at her, sighing as she handed Stiles the last coded list.

Stiles frowned as he read it, "Lydia, why did you add other names on here?"

Lydia looked at him, "I didn't write anything."

"This is your handwriting."

Lydia walked over to him, her forehead furrowing, "Why would I write another name?"

"Why would you write mine and Georgie's?"

Before Georgie could feel the fear at seeing Lydia's handwriting of her name on an already-deadpool, she felt something crackle and shock her body, starting at her side. It shocked her system enough that she fell over, immediately passing out.

Stiles and Lydia gasped. "Georige!?" And they saw Brunski there with his taser, "It was the tapes, wasn't it?" He lit up his taser again and jabbed it into Stiles' side until he fell. Lydia let out a loud scream as she watched her friends crumple. Brusnki grinned at her, "Your turn, sweetheart."

* * *

Scott took Malia's flask from her and sniffed it, looking at her as she sagged against Jessie, "Malia... What's in this? What did you have to drink?"

"Just vodka!" she insisted.

Scott gave Jessie a look, "Stay on your feet and keep moving," and started leading them towards where he saw Liam behind with Beth looking as concerned as they were.

* * *

Parrish carefully studied the reports from Eichen connected to all the names from Lydia's list. They were all reported as suicide, and of course all came from Eichen, but then he noticed something else they had in common. Their reports were all filled out by the same person. Brunski. Two was a coincidence. Three was a pattern.

"Is there a Parrish in here!?"

Jordan looked up alarmed as a man just a bit younger than him with blonde hair raced into the station, looking around. Jordan waved, "That's me."

Alex noticed him towards the Sheriff's office and ran over, "Where are Lydia, Stiles, and Georgie? I was told they were with you."

"They went to Eichen House," Jordan said. "And I think they're in trouble."

"They are," Alex said, knowing that place was anything but good. "Let's go."

* * *

"Help us! Help us!" Lydia screamed. She, Stiles, and Georgie were bound to a metal pole in the records room with Eichen House restraints and chains. "Someone, help!"

"Lydia, there's a lot of people screaming for help in a place like this. I don't think anyone's listening," Stiles told her.

"Well, I'm open to better ideas," she said. "Georgie is still out cold and if you didn't notice, all of those suicides were murders."

Stiles sighed, bending his neck to look at Georgie whose head was still slumped. "That's why she left you the message."

Lydia sadly said, "She predicted her own death. She knew I'd figure it out."

"Once you were able to predict your own," Brunski said, stepping into the room and letting the door slam behind him loudly.

The loud noise startled Georgie awake, "Stiles...?"

"Georgie," Stiles sighed in relief. He had been scared Brunski went too far with her.

"But they weren't murders," Brunski crouched over Lydia. "I'm not some serial killer like Ted Bundy going around cutting up college girls."

Stiles glared at him, "No, you're just an Angel of Death."

Brunski stalked over and leaned into Stiles' face menacingly, "I don't think you understand my level of commitment to my work here, Stiles. There are people here who don't simply need treatment. They need release. I helped them. I helped Lorraine."

"You killed her," Lydia whispered, a tear falling down her cheek.

The orderly faced her, "I helped her. And now you can help me. Because there is something about it that's always bothered me." He pulled out another cassette tape and held it in front of her face. She read the label – LORRAINE MARTIN.

* * *

Beth was trying to prop up a disoriented and floppy Liam with Mason's help as Scott approached with Jessie and Malia. "How much has he had to drink?"

"Not enough to get him like this," Mason said definitively.

"Something's happening," Scott said, trying to figure out what could make them all seem drunk.

Beth looked at him and Jessie and said lowly, "Didn't getting poisoned with wolfsbane get you like this before? And that wouldn't affect Jessie."

Jessie shrugged, "It's possible."

"We need to get them out of here," Scott said, alarmed. "I think we're gonna have to, um..." Scott's vision suddenly went woozy and he felt unsteady on his feet. He stumbled into Jessie, who had to drop Malia on the bench in order to support him.

"How much did you drink?" Mason eyed him.

"Nothing," Scott said, watched his hand blur in front of him. "Not even a sip."

Jessie's eyes suddenly began to glow. With a sharp gasp, Beth called her name, "Jessie!" When Jessie looked at her questioningly, Beth mouthed widely 'your eyes!' Jessie blinked, but they didn't go away.

Beth looked around for something to help and saw drunk girl loping by with colorful shades on her head. Thinking quickly, she nabbed the sunglasses – the girl was too drunk to even notice – and slid them over Jessie's glowing eyes. With only a half-sigh of relief, Jessie said, "It can't be wolfsbane."

Scott was staring at the DJ stage, feeling the sonic tones of the beat nearly beating into him. "It's not the drinks. It's the music."

* * *

Lydia shuddered as her grandmother's voice sounded over the tape. And she was forced to listen to her last moments. "What are you... Brunski, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry, Lorraine. It's going to be all right. You're just going to have a little trouble breathing."

"Ignore that, Lyd," Georgie whispered from between her and Stiles. "Just don't pay attention."

"Listen to her, Lydia," Stiles supported her. "Okay, don't listen to it."

Her grandmother started breathing heavier over the tape.

"Just focus on us, Lydia," Stiles said. "Don't listen to it, block it out. Okay?"

There were struggling noises on the tape now.

Stiles struggled himself with his restraints, yelling at Brunski, "Hey, turn it off!"

Brunski didn't listen, instead glaring and stepping threateningly over to Stiles.

"Stop!" Georgie shrieked, but he didn't listen to her either as he backhanded Stiles so hard he fell over, even with his cuffs on. Georgie glared at him, more what happened to him, and felt her whole body heating up. Unbeknownst to them, a small flame had lit up in the corner of the records room, where they couldn't immediately notice.

"Listen... Just listen," Brunksi leered over Lydia. "I need your help with this, Lydia."

"Please don't..." Lorraine was gasping desperately. Lydia flinched at the terror she must have felt, clenching her eyes shut as tears still escaped.

"Here it is. This is the part I never understood," Brunski said, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "Listen."

"Please don't hurt her."

"Don't hurt who?"

With her last breath leaving her, Lorraine whispered, "Ariel."

Lydia slowly opened her eyes, the final piece of the puzzle that was her grandmother's note, code, messages, and warnings, finally coming together. But instead of giving Brunski the satisfaction of knowing what she knew, she just slowly turned her head towards him, determined not to give him any reaction.

* * *

"We have to... I have to turn off the music," Scott mumbled, leaning on Jessie's shoulders heavily. He told Mason, "Don't let them out of your sight."

Jessie's ears were ringing, and her eyes were started to fuzz over behind the light of her glowing irises. But she helped Scott walk through the crowd, letting him lead where they wanted to go while she held up him. They approached the stage, but every once in a while, the sonic tone underneath the music would get worse and Scott would groan in pain.

Suddenly he fell over, out of her grip, a flashlight was shining right in her eyes, pretty much blinding her. "Scott?"

The assassins were dressed as security guards, working with the DJ. Two scooped up a weak Scott while the other grabbed Jessie by her hair and said, "We've got your boy," forcing her along behind towards the school.

* * *

Mason was anxiously waiting with Beth for Jessie and Scott to return, when two 'security guards' suddenly showed up and started grabbing Malia and Liam, who were too weak to resist. Mason frowned and stepped up to them, "Wait... Stop. Hey, what are you doing? These are my friends."

Assassin number one scowled at him, "Your friends are overly intoxicated. They need to be escorted out."

Mason made to follow, "Okay, I'll go with them."

But he stopped him with a hand on his chest, "That won't be necessary."

Beth glared and tried to intervene, "I know what you're really doing and I'm not going to let you hurt them."

The burly man glowered down at her, and with one glance around, reared his hand up and backhanded her across the face. He held back nothing, and the force of it sent her spinning to the ground. While Mason and some other nicer students nearby were busy helping her up, the assassins disappeared with Malia and Liam.

* * *

The lowlifes tossed the teenagers unceremoniously onto the tile of the high school hallway and a couple started tossing red tubs of gasoline onto them.

"What is that?" Scott sputtered. "What are you doing?"

One of the assassins grinned, "It's gasoline. Haigh says we gotta burn you."

One of them was still holding Jessie, and even though she was still disoriented from the music, the more distance gave her more strength, even if she was as strong as a normal human girl. She started thrashing in her captor's arms, shouting out. She knocked the glasses off of her face, revealing her brightly glowing cobalt eyes.

"What the hell?" one of the assassin's eyes widened at the sight of her.

Scott's weak head lolled over to look at her, and he realized that Jessie was being forced to transform. Her eyes were glowing, her teeth were out, and-

"AH!" the man holding her shouted as her sharp nails sliced into his arms.

He dropped her, and she blindly kicked behind her. He grunted as he fell onto his ass. She slashed at the air, not being able to see exactly where the other attackers were. And they grabbed for her arms to disable her.

The one who spoke to Scott, took out a box knife, "Maybe we should slit her throat for good measure."

Scott panicked, "Jessie!"

* * *

In Eichen's record room, that small flame in the corner had become a small trail of fire, catching onto the boxes of the shelves behind them. Stiles saw and started thrashing with his restraints harder. But Brunski was none the wiser.

He was reading a syringe of something bad, that was for sure. "We get a lot of teenagers trying to break into our drug cabinets. Most of the time they don't succeed. But you two look pretty clever to me."

When Georgie saw him approach with the needles, she whimpered and bent her neck away. She let out a cry, "No!" and like wildfire, the whole perimeter of the records room was alight.

Brunski frowned, "What the Hell?"

* * *

Scott grunted and tried to fight his weakness as he watched the assassin approaching Jessie with the blade. She thrashed, kicking her feet out, coming in contact with the head of one of the one's holding her. It was enough to knock him off, and she swiped her right hand out. Her nails sliced down the chest of the man with the blade, cutting deep, but not deep enough to kill him quickly.

He cried out and backed away, dropping the blade in fright.

* * *

"We need to shut off the music!" Beth shouted over the loud noises of the party around her and Mason as they made their way through the crowd.

"Don't you want ice?" Mason asked, gesturing to her already deeply bruised cheek.

"No time!" she shouted. "I can't explain everything to you right now – but they got Liam and Malia, they probably got Jessie and Scott, and we need to cut the music now or they are going to die!"

Understanding the severity of the situation, Mason helped her elbow through the crowd until they neared the DJ stage. He found the generator at the side of the stage and shared a look with Beth before they both wrapped their hands around the large power cord sticking out and started pulling with all of their strength. It was tough, it took all the force they had left. Beth was grunting under her breath at the effort until it finally gave, and she and Mason ripped it out, cutting off the music abruptly. The DJ was glaring at them murderously and all the teens had groaned in disappointment, but they didn't care.

* * *

Once the music cut out, Scott felt his strength coming back. He folded over onto his hands and knees and swiped the blade on the ground away from the assassin reaching for it again. His eyes glowed red as he stared at the now nervous assassin and reached forward, crushing his reaching hand in his fist.

A door down the hallway banged open and they turned to see Dechtire, Derek, and Braeden rushing in and taking the rest of the assassins out. The numbers worked, as each new arrival had an assassin to themselves. Braeden and Dechtire got the two holding Jessie, pulling them away from her and slamming them into the walls before punching them. Braeden knocked hers out with a swift kick. Dechtire knocked hers out with a headlock. Derek took the one in Scott's grip away from him and knocked him out with a classic punch.

Scott panted as he sat up against the lockers, looking up at Derek, "What happened to the gun?"

Derek gave him a look, "You're covered in gasoline."

"Oh, yeah," he mumbled, taking Derek's outstretched hand to stand him up. Braeden and Dechtire picked Malia and Liam up off the ground while Scott ran to Jessie, checking her eyes that were slowly going back to normal. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," she assured him.

* * *

"What the Hell?" Brunski choked as the smoke started invading his face. But he didn't run off. "Guess we have to speed this along before the alarm goes off."

"No!" Georgie shouted as Brunski started to poise the needle into Lydia's neck.

"Drop it." Everything stopped when Jordan came in with his gun aimed at Brunski. Alec was right behind him, hand on the handle of the ax in his back. Jordan operated as an officer of the law though. "Take your thumb off that needle and slowly withdraw it from her neck."

Brunski just smirked cockily, "Young Deputy. You're just a kid. I bet you've never even fired a..."

Jordan's gun fired, and a bullet embedded itself into Brunski's shoulder, close to his heart. His spun and fell to the ground in front of Stiles. Alex raced around the deputy to carefully remove the needle from Lydia's neck, "Are you okay? How do you feel? He didn't start injecting yet, I don't think."

Lydia whispered as he got her out of her restraints, "He... he killed my grandmother. He was controlling Meredith."

Jordan quickly got Stiles and Georgie out their cuffs, all coughing as they ran out of the records room. Jordan managed to drag Brunski out on the floor, and they all stopped in the hallway.

Stiles glared at the orderly accusingly, "He used her to create the dead pool."

Lydia leaned against Alex's side as he readily held her up, "And killed her when she tried to help us."

They were cut off when Brunski started laughing, sounding like he was choking, and began wheezing out, "You... You think it was me?... That I was controlling her?" He wheezed again, blood pooling underneath him. "Idiots... She was controlling me." As he said the last word, his head lolled over as the life left him.

Lydia's eyes widened into saucers as the truth hit her, "Oh, God. It's not him. He's not The Benefactor."

"No." Everyone started as they looked over to their right. Where none other than Meredith Walker came out from behind the wall, cool as a cucumber. "And... He wasn't on my list. But he was a bad person."


	17. Precursor

"Why can't I come?" Beth whined as Jessie got ready to leave.

"Because you're human," Jessie argued with her as she texted Scott that she'd meet him at the vet clinic.

"So?" Beth asked. "I helped earlier at the party."

"This is different," Jessie pointed out as she headed downstairs. Thankfully, her dad was at the hospital and their mom was sound asleep. "This isn't a DJ booth, Kira said it was a whole team of hunters with crossbows. And we'll have our hands full protecting Satomi's whole pack. You'll be safer here. Don't even go to school today."

"I don't like watching you rush off into certain danger," Beth confessed, frowning deeply.

Jessie turned back to her with a sigh, "Every time we go out there it could be dangerous. But that doesn't mean those of us who can help, shouldn't. And you've seen what I can do now. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"You can't say stuff like that," Beth said with a small, placated smile. "That's  _your_  rule."

Jessie hugged her sister tight, "I'm a bit of a hypocrite, I guess. I'll see you later, Beth."

"Soon," Beth added as she finally allowed her big sister out the door.

* * *

"Kira found Brett," Scott told Liam as he headed for the door, handing Liam a helmet for his bike. "They're fine but we've got to go."

"More assassins?" Liam frowned, topping at the kitchen.

Scott admitted, "Maybe a lot more," looking back at his beta.

Liam set his helmet slowly down on the table, sagging, "Different than the ones who just tried to set us on fire?"

"I think so, yeah," Scott said. He noticed the fear and guilt in Liam, could feel it. "How about I take you home?"

"I'm not like you," Liam said, disheartened.

"Not yet."

But Liam shook his head, "I don't mean I'm not strong or I'm never gonna learn how to be in control. I mean everything else. You and your friends try to protect everyone. Have you been doing this the whole time? I mean, how are you all still alive?"

Scott thought of all those they had lost. Baako, Allison, Aiden... "Not all of us are. Let me at least take you home."

Liam sighed, disappointed in himself and his inability to charge into the fight with his Alpha but resigned himself to self-induced cowardliness and accepted the helmet from Scott.

* * *

"Stiles, would you stop?" Georgie complained loudly to her boyfriend as he tried to get out of his hospital bed.

"I'm completely and totally fine!" he argued stubbornly.

Melissa was luckily there to help Georgie stop him from leaving, "Uh-uh-uh. You completely and totally have a concussion, Stiles. Lie back down. The doctor said you're not leaving without a CT scan."

"We still haven't paid for the last one," Stiles muttered.

Suddenly, Connor McGarretty appeared in the open doorway of the hospital room. "Don't worry about any medical bills. It's been taken care of."

The three of them frowned at the Scot, "What do you mean?"

Connor shrugged, "I mean what I said. I took care of it."

Stiles regressed into sarcasm as he addressed Connor, "Are you some secret millionaire or something? First you buy Lydia's grandmother's lake house and now you've paid for my CT-scan?"

"And the last one, and your dad's surgery, and Eichen House, and your MRI," Connor listed off with a smirk. "Did you think I lived off the stipend of vampire protector?"

"We don't know much about you," Georgie admitted.

Connor shrugged, "Oh well. What I know is that while I'm tasked to protect Jessie, it doesn't mean that I can't help the lot of you. Gavin as well."

Melissa's brows shot up to her forehead, "Are you telling me that my boyfriend is some secret heiress or something?"

Connor laughed from deep in his chest, "He only took over the cemetery to guard Jessie's parents. He doesn't boast."

Melissa tried to control her widened eyes and just rolled with the punches, turning to Stiles, "See, now you don't have to worry about the scan. Meredith is at the station. Your dad said it could take some time, but he will get her to talk. Even if I let you go, what would you do?"

Stiles huffed, "Okay, fine. Can you do me one little favor?"

"Anything," she promised.

"Can you get me a tape player?" he asked.

"Like cassettes?" Melissa hadn't been expecting him to ask for that.

"Yes. Tapes," he repeated, not understanding that they were the same thing.

Melissa just nodded and started walking out with Connor, "Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

"Okay, tapes, though, please," he emphasized.

She gave him a sarcastic smile, "Cassettes," and shut the door.

"By the way," Connor said as they walked off, "if you get reports of a Sasquatch roaming the halls, don't be alarmed. It's just Gavin with his Bear Grylls beard – too paranoid to leave you alone with everything going on."

Melissa couldn't fight the touched blush on her cheeks.

* * *

Lydia asked, "What did she say?" all in one breath as the Sheriff left Meredith in his office on the couch.

"Hard to tell," he admitted. "There were words. I'm not sure there were actual sentences. Nothing."

"Shocker," Alex droned, standing next to Lydia with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I think we need a psychologist..." Lydia thought out loud.

"Or a medium," the Sheriff added, somewhere between joking and completely serious.

Lydia gazed at the back of the other Banshee's head through the window, wondering, "Is she even competent enough to be charged with something?"

Stilinski spoke evenly, "If Meredith is The Benefactor, then that means she was competent enough to trick Kate into opening the Hale Vault, competent enough to blackmail Brunski into helping her, and competent enough to create a hit list and pay out money for its completion. This girl's practically a criminal mastermind."

"There's gotta be a reason why she would do this," Lydia murmured softly.

"The why doesn't matter," Alex chimed. "How does a teenaged girl from Eichen pull this off? Her being in that room may not be enough to stop this."

The Sheriff agreed with him on that point, "After what happened to Scott tonight, this thing's still going. The payments could be automatic. And as long as the killers are getting paid, and paid very well, that list is gonna keep getting smaller."

Lydia finally dragged her eyes back to the group from Meredith, "We don't just need to stop the dead pool."

"We need to stop the money."

* * *

Scott rode into the small parking lot of the clinic just as Jessie was parking and getting out of her car. The couple quickly met at the door and pushed it open. The bell rung, and Kira jogged out from the back.

"Hey, how's your mom?" Jessie asked first.

Kira smiled small, "She's okay. Healing."

"Did you find him?" Scott asked. "Did you find Brett?"

Kira nodded, "Actually, I think I found all of them." She turned around and led them into the exam room at the back. Brett was standing by the table with his arms around Lori, his shaken little sister. Kira addressed the elder woman facing them, "Satomi, this is who I was telling you about."

Satomi turned to them with a knowing smile, "I know who Scott McCall is. And Jessica Sange. It's an honor."

Lori looked over at them and asked with a quake in her voice, "Are we safe here?"

Scott and Jessie looked around the rest of the room. It was filled with shaking and wet werewolves, scared for their lives. Jessie counted at least five more. Scott shared a look with her, "We're gonna need help. A lot of help."

* * *

By the next morning, Lydia was sound asleep, slumped on the bench right outside the Sheriff's office, head leaning against the frame of the window. Alex had given her his jacket as a blanket at some point in the night, so she was warm. But she was still startled to wake up to his hand shaking her shoulder, waving coffee under her nose.

"Morning," he grunted, handing her the Styrofoam cup.

Lydia her eyes free of sleep and wrapped her hands around the cup, taking a small sip. It was a bit more bitter than she was used to. But it was Sheriff's station coffee. "You didn't have to stay."

Alex shrugged, leaning against the desk across from her, "Jessie told me to stay with you. Even with her in there, the assassins are still coming and you're still on the list."

She gave him a look, "So are you."

He tapped the back of his right shoulder with a self-satisfied smirk, "But I have an ax."

Lydia had to admit she was a bit disturbed to see the boy alive. She had hugged and consoled his sister, Emily, when the girl had told them her brother had been killed. And she had to admit that she felt a little unsettled around him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something felt off about him. She mostly got feelings about people when they were danger of dying, or certain to die. But it didn't feel the same as the sense of death she got around Alex, at least in this small amount of time near him since he got back. But she didn't have time to ponder it much.

The Sheriff came back out of his office and noticed the two of them, sitting with a grunt next to Lydia on the bench, "I thought I told you to go home."

"I thought I told you I wasn't going anywhere," she replied. "Did they get anything out of her?"

Stilinski shook his head and sighed, "Should have gone with the medium."

Deputy Parrish approached them, reporting to his boss, "We went through everything in Brunski's office, and so far, everything amounts to pretty much nothing." He frowned when he noticed how wrinkled Lydia looked, hair askew, and that both she and Alex were wearing the same things they were wearing when they brought Meredith in. "Did you not go home yet?"

Lydia answered stubbornly, "Not until Meredith starts talking."

"Lydia, I promise she'll talk, and when she does, I'll let you know," Stilinski told her. "Trust me on this. Everybody talks eventually."

"Then let me try," she insisted, determined.

"No, we've already discussed this," he argued with her.

"I've gotten through to her before," she pointed out. "Just let me try."

* * *

"I'm guessing you don't want to come."

Malia looked up from her math textbook in the den of Nuala and Dechtire's house, peering quizzically at the younger hunter. "No."

"Because you don't want to face the others, or you don't want to face Kira?" Nuala asked, leaning on the wall.

Malia scowled. "Is she there?"

Nuala nodded, "Scott said she's the one who found this Satomi character's pack. Or what's left of it."

Malia just silently went back to staring at her book.

Nuala sighed, "She's uninjured, by the way. In case you cared."

Malia steadily ignored her.

"You know, people do stupid shit all the time without thinking it through," Nuala commented.

"Then they're stupid," Malia grunted petulantly.

Nuala rolled her eyes, "Stupid decisions doesn't make a stupid person. Even smart people can be stupid when they think they're doing the right thing. When they think they're protecting someone that they care about."

Malia remained silent, but looked more thoughtful.

"And you shouldn't hold one stupid decision against them for the rest of time," Nuala droned.

Malia frowned, sitting at attention, "I don't have much practice in things like forgiveness. Some things I'm picking up fast. But other things are like..."

"Like math?" Nuala guessed, gesturing to the textbook in her lap.

Malia nodded, scowling at the offending object, "I hate math."

"But you don't hate her," Nuala insisted as gently as she could.

* * *

Chris walked silently through the abandoned Argent Warehouse, quickly kneeling by his hidden safe and putting the rare yellow wolfsbane he's stolen from the hunters inside before locking it. It was then that he noticed new footprints. They definitely weren't his, or Scott's, or Kate's. No one else should have been through here. He stood slowly and carefully, grabbing his large gun and poising it as he did. Suddenly, through some of the hanging plastic tarp, a blade whipped out towards his head. He dodged it expertly and cocked his gun when a young werewolf raced out, eyes glowing yellow and fangs growling in his face.

"Wait! Wait! Brett!" Scott ran out, pulling the werewolf away from Chris. "This is his place. It's his."

"Scott... If you bring in guests, you could have called," Chris droned.

Jessie walked out from behind the tarp, pulling it off to the side, revealing Satomi, Kira, and the other werewolves. "You're not exactly good with answering our texts, Chris."

"I didn't have anywhere else to take them," Scott added, feeling like he was on a razor's edge.

"I know this man," Satomi said with bitter recognition as she stepped out, staring at Chris. "He may not remember, but we've met before."

Chris didn't show any sign of knowing her.

Scott plead with Satomi, "You can trust him. I trust him."

"How do we know he's not like the others?" Satomi asked, suspicious.

"What others?" Chris asked, finally lowering his gun.

Jessie stepped forward and handed him an arrow, "Regular hunters are getting in on the game. And they're trained and organized."

"A whole team of them attacked last night," Kira added.

Chris peered at the bird symbol on the silver arrowhead. "They aren't hunters if they're killing for profit. Not anymore."

Brett was growing increasingly anxious, "Can they find us?" When he and Lori had been surrounded on the field by red laser targets, he had been sure they were going to die. He had told Lori to close her eyes, to protect her from knowing they were going to die. When Kira had showed up with her blade and saved them, it had been a Hail Mary. They were still in danger. They still may die.

"They might already know you're here," Chris told them honestly. "Maybe they're waiting for dark."

"So, we're not safe here?" Kira asked, scared.

"We're not safe anywhere," Satomi intoned. "We've been trying to get out for days. Everywhere we turn, we find someone new trying to kill us."

"This place is as good as any to put up a fight," Jessie cut in. "They'd find us anywhere."

Chris looked dead seriously between her and Scott, "If they're coming, they're coming for you two as well. You're still at the top of the dead pool."

"We know," Jessie told him, eyes glowing.

"We know Lydia can get the answer from Meredith. She just needs more time," Scott stressed.

"Then that's what she'll get."

* * *

Once Stiles got the all clear from the doctor, he practically raced out with Georgie and a tape player. He started the tape as soon as they got in his bedroom, the couple sitting close at the desk, listening closely.

"Let's go, Lorraine."

Georgie flinched at Brunski's voice, remembering how scared she'd been for Stiles' life last night. He noticed her flinch and wrapped his arm around her waist, ensuring her that he was here. He was safe with her.

Lorraine's voice sounded desperately quiet, "Listen to me. Please listen. There's something I have to do, something I have to stop."

"I have to take you back to Eichen, Lorraine."

Stiles reached to scroll the volume knob up.

"No. No. I don't think you're gonna be taking me anywhere. I can hear the recorder in your pocket. It's on now, isn't it? You're making a tape. Just like you taped the others."

Stiles narrowed his eyes as he realized, "This didn't happen at Eichen House."

"But where would she go?" Georgie asked.

"That's what we need to find out," he said, rewinding the tape.

"I hear something. Something I've heard before," Georgie said. And she was being honest. There was something familiar about the tape that she just could quite put her finger on. "But I can't tell... Play it again."

"...get back to Eichen, Lorraine."

"No. No. I don't think you're gonna be taking me anywhere."

Georgie could hear some slight static in the background. She'd heard it before. "Wait, I hear it again. There. Play it again and turn it up."

Stiles quickly rewound it and scrolled the volume up as high as it would go.

"No. No. I don't think you're gonna be taking me anywhere. I can hear the recorder in your pocket. It's on now, isn't it? You're making a tape. Just like you taped the others."

There was a faint scratching sound over the static, and Georgie finally knew what it was. "It's the record player."

Stiles switched the tape off, facing her, "What record player?"

"The one in the lake house, in the study," Georgie explained quickly. "It's what Lydia got the first cipher key from the night of party."

"So, she escaped from Eichen House to go back to listen to a record player?" Stiles asked. That didn't make any sense.

"She was a Banshee too," Georgie pointed out. "All of her experiments were done in that study."

"Yeah, but she just predicted Maddy's death and then just spent decades trying to predict something else," Stiles pointed out.

"What if we only just think it was once?" Georgie asked him eagerly. She felt like she was onto something. "What if she had another prediction and she predicted more than one death?"

Stiles caught on, "Like the dead pool."

She nodded emphatically, "What if even back then, Lorraine predicted all of this? And she knew there was something in the study that could stop it?"

"Then we're going to the lake house," he said, grabbing his keys.

* * *

Lydia reminded herself that she needed to remain calm. And hide her frustrations. Meredith's eyes were trained unwavering on her lap as Lydia quietly sat down next to her on the couch, "I think I'm getting an idea of how all this happened. You used Brunski, right?"

Meredith didn't even look at her.

"You knew he'd killed people, and that he would do it again. He used my grandmother's code for the dead pool. He put it online. He took the money from the Hale Vault, then turned the bearer bonds into cash. He made the payments." She swallowed to wet her dry throat as she carried on with her quiet interrogation. She didn't want to startle Meredith into another catatonic state, even if she was the criminal mastermind behind all these deaths. "Was it Brunski's idea to fake your death? Did he get nervous because you helped us with one of the cipher keys?"

Finally, Meredith spoke up, "I wanted to help."

Lydia nodded, speaking carefully, like talking to a wounded animal, "All you ever wanted to do was help. Is that why you're here?" She leaned in closer, "I know you wouldn't want to be here if you didn't want to talk."

"I do," Meredith nodded. "But only to one person."

"Who?"

"Peter. Peter Hale."


	18. Forever

While Chris rigged the warehouse with motion alarm sensors, Jessie greeted Derek as he arrived with Dechtire and Braeden.

"Where's Marissa?" she asked urgently. They couldn't leave her alone in Beacon Hills with their baby on the deadpool now.

"I put her on the train to San Francisco. She has family there that she'll stay with," Derek assured her.

"Good..." she muttered, looking around. Satomi's pack was still shaking as they huddled together. Dechtire and Braeden were making sure their weapons were ready. Scott was watching over everyone. Jessie asked Derek quietly, "Did you ever think we'd end up here when we first met?"

He gave her a look, "When we first met, you were an infant and I was still a kid."

She rolled her eyes at him, "You know what I mean."

Derek chuckled shortly before he answered her, "I don't think I would have been able to come up with half of the things that have happened the last couple of years. But I'm also not surprised with how you turned out."

Jessie rose her brow at him curiously, "How do you mean?"

"With everything you and your friends have gone through, you more than most, you've all grown up, grown stronger," he explained, looking at her like a fond older brother. "And you've become very powerful, but you've also become very brave. I think Baako would be very proud of you."

She gave him a touched and teary smile, embracing him with a side hug.

Scott walked over then, nodding to the werewolves, "They'll be okay."

"They've got claws and fangs. But they're not fighters," Derek reasoned.

"That's why I called you."

Derek grimaced, accepting the gun Dechtire handed him, "Well, try to remember I don't have claws and fangs anymore either."

Dechtire gestured to herself and Braeden, "That's why he called us."

Just then, Malia walked in, just behind a smirking Nuala, "And that's why I brought her."

Kira brightened – warily – when she saw Malia walking in with the hunter. She reigned in the hope on her face as she tried to meet the were-coyote's eyes but smiled widely when Malia looked back at her and walked over to her. She didn't say anything. Just silently didn't scowl and took Kira's hand.

"Thank you for coming," Kira whispered.

Malia shrugged, "Anything's better than math."

The kitsune laughed shortly before the world of doubts entered her eyes. "Am I the only one still hoping this is all just a false alarm?" she asked with an unsteady frown. "I mean, it's possible we could wait here all night, and nothing happens. Right?"

Braeden looked to Scott, "Scott, you heard anything from Stiles or Lydia yet?"

He shrugged, "Lydia's still talking to Meredith. Stiles and Georgie are headed to the lake house. They're trying to stop it."

"What if there is no stopping it?" Brett asked, looking over his sister's head. "What if it doesn't end until we're all dead?"

Derek grew fiercely determined as he cocked his handgun, "Then let's send a message. Let's make something perfectly clear to anyone with a copy of that list. It doesn't matter if they're professional assassins, hunters, or an amateur who just picked up a gun. Anyone who thinks they can hunt and kill us for money, is gonna be put on another list. Our list. They get to be a name on our dead pool."

* * *

Beth could not focus on homework. She was consumed with trying not to jump at every little sound in the empty house, waiting to hear from her sister that the danger had passed. She hoped she didn't get the other kind of call. With the worst news.

So, when there was a knock at the door, she was so startled that she let out a little scream.

"Beth!?"

She panted a little, holding her rapidly beating heart, before walking up to the door and peering through the peep hole, seeing Liam's alarmed face. She opened the door quickly, "Liam?"

"Yeah, was that you screaming?" he asked, rushing in and looking around the house as if a beserker was going to pop into the living room.

"Yeah, you startled me," she said, closing the door and locking it. "I'm a bit on edge, being here alone while the rest of them go to face trained killers."

"Yeah..." Liam mumbled, feeling bad for scaring her.

"Why aren't you at school?" she asked. Jessie had already known Liam wasn't going to come with them. He had gotten really scared last night when he was almost set on fire.

He shrugged, "I couldn't concentrate."

Beth idly nodded, "Are you okay? I know last night must have been really scary. Or really, the last few weeks for you must have been really scary."

He nodded absentmindedly, "You guys must be used to all of that. Doing it for so long. But I'm not. I'm not like Scott or your sister. I'm not like you."

"Liam..." she sighed, trying to find the right thing to say to make him feel better. He looked so disappointed in himself. "Contrary to what my attitude about all of this might imply, I'm relatively new to all of this. And I know how scary it all is. I haven't really been involved until this year."

Liam was confused by that, "But with Jessie as your sister, haven't you always known she was a vampire?"

"Why don't we sit?" Beth suggested. She had a lot to catch him up on.

* * *

As Parrish went to escort Meredith into an interview room while they waited for Peter to arrive, Lydia and Alex followed, lest she escape. But when Jordan walked her passed Alex, she paused right in front of him, abruptly. She stared at him with a mixture of horror and awe, "You sound like..."

Alex couldn't deny that he was disturbed to get zeroed in on by a banshee, and this one none the less.

Meredith turned to Lydia, alarmed, "Can't you hear it? Can't you feel it?"

Lydia wondered if Meredith felt the same offness with Alex that she did. But she still didn't understand what it meant. "Feel what, Meredith?"

Meredith looked at Lydia, scared for the first time, "Death..."

* * *

When Peter finally arrived, he did not believe what they were telling him, staring at Meredith through the one-way mirror, "Her? That's the girl that stole my money?"

"That girl is a Banshee," Lydia snapped. "They're more dangerous than you think."

"Oh, I think that girl's pilot light went out a long time ago," the werewolf snarked. "Sheriff, not to question the unquestionably sterling reputation of your department, but are you absolutely sure you got the one?"

Stilinski wasn't impressed by his candor, "How about you just go in there and see what she has to say?"

But Peter relented and walked into the interview room with Jordan hovering in the corner. He sat across from Meredith at the cold metal table. "Okay... Meredith, where's my money? Or more correctly, what's left of it."

She didn't say anything to answer him. He almost thought she didn't even know he was there. But she was staring right at him, almost in awe and confusion. Then her little, fragile hand reached tentatively across the table, and stroked the side of his face. He held back from attacking when he saw she was going to touch him. He resisted for as long as he could before his hand snapped up and grabbed her wrist to make her stop.

"Let her go," Jordan reached for his gun. "Let her go."

Peter dropped her hand on the table, "Why did you do that?"

"They're all gone..." she whispered.

In the other room watching, Lydia suddenly gasped, "Oh, my God. They have met before."

"The burns," Meredith said. "They're all... gone."

* * *

"I remember meeting you, but you weren't a Buddhist back then," Chris admitted to Satomi quietly as they waited in the warehouse for nightfall.

Satomi gave him a skeptical look, "And you weren't protecting werewolves. You were hunting them." She still wasn't sure what side he was on, or if he could be trusted.

"Three things cannot long be hidden... The sun. The moon. The truth. What exactly does that mean?" he asked.

"The truth cannot stay hidden," she answered blandly.

"I know what the saying means," he said a bit forcefully. "What does it mean for you?"

Reluctantly, she answered, "The truth for me is that we, my kind, are violent creatures, who eventually will not be able to control their violent impulses. The mantra helps us subdue our nature."

Chris looked at her pack, feeling surrounded by wolves, "But you're still violent creatures."

"Aren't we all?"

Before he could carry on the conversation, his alarms started beeping around them, startling the werewolves. "They're coming."

From seeming all entrances, cylindrical smoke bombs were tossed into the room. They went off with slight bangs and started filling the room with smoke.

Braeden screamed, "Get back!" raising up her gun and meeting her back with Derek's.

The hunters stormed in from all sides, dressed to the nines like some delusional SWAT team. They waited not one second before they opened fire with their automatic weapons, making the pack scatter. Jessie leapt in front of the group, tossing her hands palm out in front of her. Scott watched in awe as a blue force field emanated from her hands, spreading across the length of the room, creating a barrier between them and the hunters.

They continued to shoot, the bullets smacking against the field and falling to the floor with a symphony of metallic clatters. Everyone watched as the vampire's arms started shaking. She couldn't hold it up indefinitely. When it seemed that her arms would give out under the onslaught, she threw them forward. The force field moved with her movements, thrusting out and colliding with the hunters, knocking the lot of them on their asses and throwing them off.

Scott quickly came up behind her and grabbed her waist, pulling her into cover when some started shooting again.

* * *

"Meredith, you put everyone, including my nephew and my daughter on a death list. Don't you think you owe us the slightest explanation of why?" Peter asked with a demanding tone. He was trying really hard to reign in his temper, so he could get the answers he wanted.

"You said it had to be kept secret," Meredith murmured, staring at him with recognition and confusion. Didn't he remember?

"I said?" he asked. He didn't know this girl. "I said that to you?"

"You said it," she insisted, nodding her head.

"Meredith," he enunciated her name slowly. "Allow me to remind you yet again, we have never met... Ever." He leaned forward, the gears in his eyes turning.

"What is he doing?" Stilinski asked as he noticed Peter's subtle move.

Meredith frowned sadly, like she was being rejected, "You don't remember?"

"No," he grunted lowly. "But maybe you do."

Just as he started to move, Lydia banged against the glass, "No, don't!" But he had already stood, tossed the table back with a loud metal scraping sound, thrown Jordan into the wall to knock him out, and wrapped his hand around Meredith's throat. When he had a good grip, his slipped his werewolf claws neatly into the back of her neck, making the connection to her memories.

Jordan had quickly stood up and aimed his gun for Peter as Stilinski ran into the room with his weapon drawn. Lydia raced in between them, shrieking, "Don't! Don't touch them. If you break the bond you could kill them. Both of them."

"Unfortunately, she's right," Alex said as he walked in last.

"What are we supposed to do?" the Sheriff asked.

Alex scratched the back of his neck, "Wait for them to come out on their own."

The Deputy eyed the back of Meredith's neck, "What the hell is he doing to her?"

Meredith's eyes suddenly opened wide, and her mouth fell agape as she muttered unintelligibly under her breath. Lydia's head tilted as she listened.

"Do you hear that?" Stilinski asked them lowly. "She's saying something."

Jordan looked at Lydia, "Can you understand that?"

"I can," she said, leaning into Meredith. "I can hear perfectly."

Meredith kept murmuring, painting a horrifying picture for Lydia to report.

"She was in the hospital. The  _same_  hospital."

"Same as who?" Alex asked.

"Peter..." she said. "It was right after the fire. Meredith could hear him."

"Hear what?" the Sheriff asked.

"Everything," she whispered like she was under a spell. "She was hearing every thought in his head, like they'd somehow found the same wavelength. And everything going through his mind was also going right into hers." She shuddered at the thought of what the other banshee must have gone through having him in her head. She remembered when Peter had controlled her from beyond the grave and forced her to bring him back.

"For how long?" Stilinski asked.

"Weeks. Maybe even months. It was almost like he was standing right over her bed talking about the fire. About getting revenge," Lydia flinched as she remembered through Meredith the thoughts she had gotten from Peter. She had been so scared, alone in her hospital bed, unable to get away as he loomed over her.

_"I predicted this. I told... I told Talia this was going to happen. Something like this was going to happen. I said that they were gonna come for us."_

_"The Argents. They're gonna come for us. They are gonna burn us to the ground. Burn us to the ground. Did she listen? Of course not. Did anyone listen?"_

_"They listened to her. Yes! Say that everything was going to be fine. That we were all perfectly safe."_

It was never ending.

_"Perfectly safe. But she made us weak! She made us weak. And what happens to the weakest in the herd? They get picked off by the predators! We used to be the apex predators. Until Talia turned us into sheep."_

_"But I'll start over. Like a vengeful God, I will raze this earth to the ground! I will take out all of them! Not just the wolves, but the Wendigos, the Banshees, every shape shifter. I will obliterate the weak and I will remake the supernatural of Beacon Hills in my image."_

He had even planned hiring assassins.  _"I won't have to do any of it myself. Because I'll hire people. Assassins. Professional killers. People like The Mute. The Chemist. Even... Someone like the Desert Wolf. I'll use the money in the Vault. The bearer bonds. I'll use every penny if I have to. I'll start with the professionals, and then maybe I'll disseminate the list further."_

_"No. No. Not a list. A dead pool. Eventually everybody will want a chance. Anyone can become a killer for the right price because when it comes down to it, everyone can be corrupted by money!"_

With sharp gasps, Peter ripped his claws out of Meredith's neck and fell against the opposite wall, panting heavily.

Lydia looked down on him, "It was your idea and you don't even remember."

* * *

Georgie and Stiles sat on the carpet of the study, staring at the rotating record that played nothing but static as the needle scratched over it. Stiles frustratedly sighed, "What are we doing? This room wasn't even made for us. No, we need someone like Lydia or Meredith, and we're just sitting here listening to a stupid record player play a record that doesn't play anything. Come on." He stood and made for the door, desperate to find another lead.

"Stiles." But Georgie knew they were in the right place. "There has to be something here. Maybe it's not the record player but it is this room."

Stiles turned back to her, "Then where is it?"

With pursed lips, she stood and started searching the room. She studied the shelves of records next to the player, and the large speakers. Standing over the record player, she saw something behind it. She peered over and saw a thick black wire going into the wall. "Stiles, it's here."

Stiles went over and saw the wire. Quickly, he pushed the record player out of the way and bent over the wire, wrapping his hand around it. He shared a look with his girlfriend, and after her nod, started yanking the wire out of the wall. The drywall crumbled as the wire traveled up the wall to the ceiling, leaving a large crack. There was something behind the wall.

They both started tearing away at the drywall. It ripped easily, like cardboard. Piece by piece went away until they could hear something rotating and whirring and removed the wall enough to reveal three tall very old computers with whirring tapes and a series of buttons on them.

"What is this?" Georgie gaped at it all.

"A dead pool."

* * *

"Jessie hasn't always been a vampire."

Liam frowned, "What do you mean?"

Beth grimaced at her lame explaining. "Well, I guess it's always been in her blood. Her biological dad was a vampire, but not a full one. I guess, before her, vampires hadn't been a full power for like centuries or something. But it wasn't until she died and got some pure vampire blood that she came into full power."

"So, you've only known as long as Scott and them have been doing this?"

She shook her head, "No, not even then. When Scott first got bitten, and Jessie was just finding out that her parents didn't just die in a car accident – she kept us all clueless. But then last year, my parents and I were kidnapped by hunters. To use us against Jessie."

Liam gulped at her words. He couldn't imagine. Well, he could. He had technically been taken last night. He was just rescued quickly.

"They even shot her in front of us," Beth remembered out loud. "That's when we found out she had powers. She healed from the bullet wound, got back up, and started fighting off all the bad guys."

"She's braver than I am," Liam huffed.

Beth leaned against the couch more. "She was always scared, Liam. They're all, always scared. She even begged us to leave her being here in Beacon Hills. To get away from dangers that were connected to this town and deeply connected to her. Mom agreed to take me away, but dad stayed behind to watch out for her. Eventually, Baako, our brother, came back too from a trip he was at in Africa. It didn't fare well for them."

"Was that when your dad got hurt?" Liam asked quietly, remember that Mr. Hansen was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

She nodded, "This dark druid, called a Darach, was sacrificing people in threes to take out this Alpha Pack that left her for dead. She picked my dad from the Healers. She hung him upside down for hours, slowly suffocating him. But when she rigged him up, she injured his spine. So, even when Jessie's friends got to him, it was too late to save his walking. And... well, the Alphas killed Baako."

As she looked down, tears in her eyes, Liam reached forward to take her hand. "I'm sorry."

She squeezes his hand back, "We're all terrified, Liam. All the time. That's nothing to be ashamed of. But... it's just the world now."

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Peter growled incredulously as the Sheriff and his Deputy pointed their guns at him.

"Hands where I can see them," Stilinski ordered.

Peter slowly stood against the wall, "How the hell was I supposed to remember any of that?"

"She got it from you," Lydia spoke sternly as Meredith let out shaky breaths next to Parrish. Alex had bent his hand behind him, curling it around the handle of his ax.

"I was out of my mind," he defended himself. "Do you know what it's like for one of us to be in a coma? Paralyzed but cognizant? You try not going crazy."

"She was listening to you," Jordan retorted.

Peter gave him a glare, "She was listening to the ranting and raving of a lunatic." He paused before adding with dark humor, "A former lunatic. I'm much healthier now."

"A former lunatic who started killing people on his own out of revenge when he woke up," Alec pointed out.

Peter turned the glare on him, "I had nothing to do with this."

"If she was following your lead on this, then how do we know there isn't more?" Stilinski accused.

Peter scoffed, "Stealing my own money? Really?"

"You were going to use it anyway."

"Stop. Stop it," Lydia cut in. "This is what she wants. It's why she's here." She tried to reign in her fear. "Look around, Sheriff. There's four people in here right now. Four people still on the dead pool. Me, Alex, Parrish... And Meredith."

"But not him," Parrish said, aiming the gun for Peter's chest.

"Lydia's right. We don't want to kill each other," Peter supported her.

"The only person I'm pointing a gun at is you," the Sheriff said, aiming for the head.

Peter glared at him determined, pressing his forehead to the barrel, "Then you better make it a perfect shot, Sheriff, because I don't go down easy."

"I'm willing to bet that a bullet between the eyes doesn't heal real fast... Not even for your kind."

Lydia begged, "Stop. Please, stop."

"This department's getting more corrupted by the second," Peter spat. "What are you going to charge me with, Sheriff? How are you going to explain this to a judge? Telepathic girl overhears thoughts of comatose werewolf and decides to enact his plans for retribution? Hmm." He clicked his tongue derisively, "They're gonna be pointing a gun at your head and asking you to go quietly."

The Sheriff's gun clicked as he took the safety off.

"Let him go," Lydia whimpered. "You have to let him go."

Peter tilted his head thoughtfully, "I'd take the word of a Banshee, Sheriff. I leave. No triggers pulled. No blood shed."

Stilinski hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering his gun. Peter smirked as he started walking out. But the Sheriff called behind him, "That's twice, Peter. There's not gonna be a third."

As Peter left, Meredith started to whine and panic, trying to stop him, "No. It's not finished." Parrish grabbed her to stop her from getting away. "No, it's not finished! No! It's not... It's not finished!"

* * *

Stiles stared up at the whirring machine with confusion and determination, "If this thing's being used to disseminate the list, then it's probably gonna keep going until everyone's dead."

"How do we stop it?" Georgie asked him. He always had the answers.

Stiles scratched his head, "It needs some kind of prompt or command or something, right?"

Georgie scanned the machine up and down until her eyes landed on something near the top center. "Stiles, look," her finger reached up and pointed to a small slot. "Maybe it needs a key."

* * *

Scott, fully transformed, knocked through as many attacking assassins as possible, moving through the warehouse. He dodged the spray of bullets, trying to shield those around him as he smacked assassins and knocked them out.

Kira was slicing every arrow in half with her sword, slashing into some of the assassins' body armor. Malia lined herself along her back, swiping out at every advancing hunter with her claws, brightly glowing blue eyes out to play along with her fangs.

Jessie scratched and stabbed every assassin that approached if they got passed Derek or Braeden's bullets. Dechtire and Nuala were nearby as well, back to back and shooting any hunter in sight. When the bullets came for them, Jessie made small brief force fields to block them. She looked around frantically for Scott but couldn't see him.

"Scott!"

Scott was pulling an attacker away from Brett, panting breathlessly, "Get the others back. Tell them to hide." After Brett nodded and ran off, Scott looked around desperately for Jessie. He grunted in pain when he felt some of the firing bullets pierce his hip and shoulder. "Jessie! Jessie!"

* * *

Stiles held his phone with Lydia on facetime in front of the machine so that she could see what they were dealing with. "You see it? There's got to be a way to turn it off, right?"

At the station, Lydia was pacing rapidly in front of Alex by the Sheriff's office. "I don't know. I don't know anything about computers from the 1970s."

"Neither do we," Georgie quipped.

"Okay, where's the monitor?" Lydia asked.

"Lydia, there is no monitor," Stiles snapped. "There are buttons, knobs, spindles, no monitor."

Lydia's eyes narrowed as the camera swiped across the room and she noticed something on the carpet. Or rather, the lack of something. "Wait, turn the phone back. Point it at the carpet."

"Do you think the monitor is in the floor?" Alex asked.

Lydia gave him an unimpressed look and returned to Stiles, "Just show me the floor." When the camera went back, it confirmed what she had noticed. The red wine she had spine on the carpet at the party wasn't there anymore. "Where's the stain? There should be red blotches, a wine stain."

"There's nothing," Stiles said.

"That doesn't make sense," Lydia paced faster. "I gave the $500 I was supposed to use to hire cleaners to Brunski."

"Lydia, what the hell does wine have to do with anything?" Stiles snapped again.

"Red wine doesn't just disappear," Lydia insisted. She finally stopped pacing when something pieced together in her genius IQ mind, "Unless it wasn't wine."

"What now?" Alex asked at the same time as Stiles.

"The ashes weren't ashes. The study isn't a study. The record player isn't a record player," she listed all the things about her grandmother that didn't make sense before. "So... So maybe the wine wasn't wine. Stiles, you have to find the wine. Find the bottle. There could be something about it."

"What kind? What's it called?" Stiles asked eagerly.

"It's a 1982 Cotes du Rhone."

Once he hung up with Lydia, Stiles raced out of the study to find the wine bottle. When he came back, he was shaking it all about, something small clanging against the glass. "I think there's something inside. Do you have, like, a wine opener or..."

Georgie gave him a look and yanked the bottle away. With a firm line set on her lips, she swung the bottle back and threw it against the wall. It shattered easily, and Stiles knelt down to dig in the pile of glass, coming back with a small key. He ran to the machine and slid it into the slot, turning it. He and Georgie stepped back and watched as the whirring slowed, the tapes stopped turning, and the little lights under the buttons dulled and shut off.

"Thank god," Georgie let out a huge sigh of relief.

With a breath of disbelief that it was done, Stiles scooped Georgie up in his arms and gave her a long passionate kiss.

* * *

"Scott!"

Scott looked up as heard Jessie's voice and saw her sprinting to him under a hail of bullets. They met in the middle and clutched each other for a moment before diving into the fray. They saw Lori wondering out, looking for her brother, "Brett? Brett, where are you?"

She was found by an assassin, red dot on her forehead, when the couple saved her. Jessie quickly shielded the younger girl with her body and a small force field while Scott tackled the assailant to the ground.

Scott jammed his knee on top of the man and angrily slashed at his chest, blood spurting out and painting his werewolf face. Jessie held a cowering Lori as he attacked. She watched as he yanked off the assassin's helmet and face mask, revealing a now-scared face of a man not much older than them. That made it worse.

Scott slashed hiring, entering dangerous territory. Jessie watched with trepidation as Scott's face started morphing into something else – some darker, more like an animal, wiping away human characteristics. He slashed and growled loudly.

But then there was a cell phone chime. And then two, and then five, seven, too many to count. The fighting paused. And so did Scott. He heard one of the chimes come from the hunter under him. He shook his head and his face went back to his normal werewolf form. With a clawed hand, he reached into the hunter's pocket and pulled out his cell phone, reading the last message from the Benefactor. With a determined glare, he turned the phone, so the assassin could read it.

_ALL CONTRACTS TERMINATED._

It was almost too surreal when the hunters that still had consciousness or use of their legs turned hide and ran as soon as there wasn't money to be made. And then everything was calm. Jessie returned Lori to Brett and raced to Scott, hugging him tight around the neck. "They're gone."

"Is it over?" Kira asked behind them, holding Malia's hand with the one not holding her sword. "Really over?"

Everyone was smiling. Because yes – it really was over.

Scott shook his face back to his normal human one and closed his eyes as he pressed his forehead against Jessie's. "Ready for forever?"

Jessie whispered back serenely, "Definitely."

* * *

Lydia gently guided Meredith down on the Sheriff's couch, draping Alex's jacket over her shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

Meredith said nothing, fingering the lapels of Alex's jacket. She didn't even seem phased.

"I guess you are, aren't you?" Lydia sighed, "For someone who'd put their own name on a hit list."

Meredith looked at her, "I had to."

"Why?"

Meredith leaned forward eagerly, "Because I heard you. I heard you scream in the tunnels at Oak Creek."

Lydia carefully kept her face consistent as she was reminded of the absolute terror, and gut-wrenching grief she had felt when she felt her best friend die.

_"ALLISOOOOOOOON!"_

"That's why I knew it was the right time... To start over," Meredith explained herself.

Lydia gave a soft inhale, "But with Peter?" She didn't under why Meredith aligned herself with him.

But by Meredith's face, it made sense to her in some twisted way, and she looked like she wanted Lydia to understand too. "He's the alpha. He's always been the alpha. He'll make it right. It never was with us. Too many people died because of us. We're the monsters. Even Banshees. Even me."

Lydia could understand why Meredith felt that way. She had been locked away, or even tortured and in pain for her gifts. And she knew and felt all the death beings like them were capable of causing. But Lydia always had a beacon of hope for herself and her friends to get through it all and hold onto their humanity. "I don't believe that. Not all monsters do monstrous things."

Meredith didn't seem to understand that, "Like who?"

"Like Scott..." she suggested. "Jessie..."

After a long, peering look, Meredith reached over to cup her cheek, "Like you." After a beat of staring into Lydia's eyes and seeing the goodness there, horror washed over Meredith's face as she realized all the pain and fear she had caused, "Oh, God. What have I done?"

* * *

Water dripped in the dank sewers as Kate watched Peter march up to her in their little clubhouse for wayward villains. "You look nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Peter growled. "I'm rattled. I don't like being rattled."

"But it's over. The dead pool's done," she told him. "And if you need to be reminded, everything else is going exactly your way."

"Not exactly my way."

"Maybe every little piece in your game didn't move just as predicted, but they still moved perfectly into place," she replied casually. She watched Peter hold his hand out, letting ice cold water hit his skin, like he wanted to feel something. She eyed his back accusingly, "You wanna bail on the plan."

"Of course not," he immediately denied. "Not when I'm this close. Not when I'm this close to killing Scott McCall."

* * *

Jessie and Scott went to her house first. Jessie needed to tell Beth that they were all okay and it was all over. Just as they arrived at the front of the house, Beth ripped over the door and ran to them. "What happened? Is it done?"

Scott smiled, "Yeah, the deadpool was taken down. No more money. No more assassins."

Beth squealed as she hugged him, and then her sister, overflowing with glee that they were safe now.

* * *

After Meredith was taken away for final statements about the deadpool and everything with Brunski, Lydia felt most of the spirit leaving her. She was so tired. She just wanted to go to bed. She slowly walked out of the office and saw Alex waiting, perched on the desk across from the door. She approached him, holding out his jacket, "Here. I wanted to return this to you. Thanks for lending it to me."

Alex shrugged, "You could just keep it. I never get cold anymore."

But Lydia still handed it back to him. "Does that have something to do with how you got brought back from the dead?"

"I think so," he said. "But I don't know what happened, so I couldn't say for sure." He tried to act casual about it, but she could tell that it bothered him.

"Is there a way to find out?" she asked. "I mean, you got singled out by a banshee who created a supernatural deadpool – that said you felt like death. I'd want to know why."

"There's only one person with the answers, and I'm not willing to knowingly make a deal with the devil," Alex said. "It's really okay. As long as I'm here."

She nodded, glad he had been there to help. He had saved her life after all.

* * *

Jessie and Scott laid side by side in his bed late in the night, heavily making out. He rolled over on top of her. As he kissed her cheek and neck, she moaned breathlessly, "Forever?"

He pressed his lips to her throat, "Forever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, it's not over yet.  
> But I'd love some comments or reviews.


	19. Life Hiatus

 

It had been a few days by since the deadpool was taken down by that Friday. Derek and Marissa were going back into the hospital for their official scan, this time hoping to remember to get ultrasound photos. They wanted as many photos as they could get. Derek lost all the ones from his childhood in the fire. And he wanted to keep as many memories of their child as he could.

"All right Miss Jude let's take a look," the ultrasound technician cheered as she wheeled up and put jelly on Marissa's belly.

Derek kept his eyes on the screen and his ears on their baby's heartbeat, holding tightly to Marissa's hand. A whooshing sound of their child's heart came over the speakers at the same time the screen became less fuzzy and they got a look at their daughter's shape.

Marissa whispered, "She looks perfect..."

"Ten fingers and toes, that's always good," the doctor joked. She moved the wand around more, "And definitely still a girl. Progressing nicely, right on track, if even a little ahead of schedule. I would still say you're due in June though."

Once the scan was done and Marissa was cleaned off, the doctor printed out a healthy handful of photos for them and sent them on their way. Derek sighed as they got in his car, "I think you're right. Even if things with the deadpool are done with, it's not safe to stay here with the baby."

Marissa took his hand over the console, "Are you sure?"

He nodded, even if he did so sadly, thinking about leaving his home. "Seeing her on that screen, she's a real little person. And we need to think about her and what she needs more than anything else. And here, it's too dangerous. We still have no idea what happened to my powers, I could be pretty much human forever. But I wouldn't trust that to protect us from hunters or anything else."

Marissa cupped his face, so he looked at her, "I know this is a difficult thing to even think about. But wherever we are, as long as our daughter gets a good safe life, will be home. And we can always visit. It's a bit surreal for me to think about leaving Beacon Hills too."

"It's what's best," he murmured. "But there's one important detail to iron out first before we leave."

"What?" she asked.

Derek deftly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small square box. Marissa's hand fell limply from his cheek as he opened it to reveal a simple silver band with a small aquamarine stone on it in the shape of a crescent moon. She gasped at the sight of it.

"Will you marry me?" Derek asked with a slow, wide smile on his lips.

Marissa couldn't fight the small tears in the corners of her eyes as she nodded and said, "Yes!" kissing him eagerly before he could get the ring on her finger.

* * *

Meanwhile... "What do you mean there's another prophecy? I already have two!"

Scott and Jessie sat in the McCall kitchen across the counter from Alex as he told the last bit of what he learned while tracking Hilda. "This one is a bit more well circulated and doesn't explicitly say it's you. Like the others said the child of a vampire and a grimm. This one is vague. My dad actually thought it would have been Jackson at first."

"Jackson?" Jessie questioned with a slight tremor at the memory of the young boy's death.

"I don't know the whole thing," Alex explained. "But it says that this being will basically grow powerful enough to surpass every other being in history. Someone born from death."

"Jackson was pulled out of his dead mother," Scott remembered. "It could have made sense."

"But it wasn't him," Alex said, looking at Jessie. "Your full powers were born from your own death. When Jennifer attacked you, your heart stopped, then we gave you the blood, and as part of the transformation, your whole body shut down before it basically rebooted as this new full vampire being."

"So, I'm pretty badass is what you're saying," Jessie joked. It was a defense mechanism really.

Alex was still stern in the face, "This is serious. This is why Hilda came after you so strong, seemingly out of nowhere. As soon as you entered her radar, she knew who you were, and she wanted to take you out. You're a threat to pretty much every evil supernatural out there that doesn't want you to knock them off first."

"He's right," Scott said, looking at Jessie with deep concern.

"So, what else is new?" she asked. "You're a super rare true Alpha. We'll always be targets like that. There's no use waiting around for something bad to come by. You showed me that."

Scott and Alex shared a look, both just wanting her to be safe, but they knew she had a point. Alex shrugged, "I'm just telling you the situation."

"Thanks, Alex," Jessie told him. "But we still have lives to live, and we should take some time to celebrate that we're alive."

Scott kissed her cheek, "Agreed."

* * *

"What do you mean, Dechtire and Nuala are gone?" Stiles asked his girlfriend as she got off the phone with Deaton.

She sighed, still trying to make sense of it for herself. "Dechtire got a call, something came up. So, they packed up and are driving to South Dakota."

"South Dakota?" Stiles repeated dubiously. "What the Hell is in South Dakota?"

"Someone named Dean?" she explained, not knowing the significance of the name. "I guess he's a big-name hunter in their world, and close with Dechtire. But they thought he was dead, but apparently, he like rose from the grave a few months ago, and finally got convinced to tell her. So, they're going to see for themselves that it's really him."

"Jeez is coming back from the dead a fashion trend or something?" Stiles asked, exasperated.

"Better than them staying dead, I guess," Georgie sighed, sinking down on the bed with him and laying her head on his shoulder, thinking of how they'd lost Allison. She wasn't coming back. Neither was Baako, or Aiden, or anyone else they'd lost to the deadpool. But they still had each other.

* * *

The next day, Jessie was helping Scott brush up on his studying for his retake of the PSAT coming up. They were lying about in his bed when Melissa suddenly called them down. Sharing a weird look, they slowly got up and walked downstairs to see Melissa and Gavin sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Is something wrong?" Scott asked as he and Jessie walked in.

Melissa was fidgeting a little with her hands, feeling nervous about the upcoming conversation. "No, no, we just have something we want to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Scott asked slowly, watching Gavin take his mother's hand.

"We actually wanted your opinion about something," Gavin said.

"Sweetie, what do you think of Gavin moving in with us?"

Melissa had said it so quickly, grimacing and cringing the whole time – like she was ripping off a band-aid – that neither supernatural creature had really understood what she said right away. But after a moment, Scott was able to react, "I think it's a great idea."

Melissa sagged with the force of her relieved sigh, "Really? You're not just saying that?"

Scott smiled genuinely, "Of course not. I like Gavin. And he's good to you. And I can see how you two feel about each other. He should live here."

Melissa stood up and embraced her son, "Thank you, sweetheart."

"I love you, Mom," he murmured to her as there was a knock at their door.

"I'll get that," Gavin volunteered, going to the stairs and opening the door. He walked back in with Derek and Marissa in tow, "Look who's here."

"Hi, guys," Jessie greeted them warmly. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Just wanted to drop these off," Marissa said with a wide smile as she started handing out sonogram photos.

Melissa cooed at it, "Oh, how perfect. Have you thought of names?"

"Actually, we landed on the full name today," Derek said, slipping an arm around Marissa's shoulders.

"What did you decide?" Scott asked, adopting a similar position with Jessie.

"Talia, for my mom," Derek said, earning fond smiles from the group. "Talia Jessica."

All eyes went to Jessie as hers widened, unbelievably touched. "Really?"

"We wanted to name her in honor of her hopefully Godmother," Marissa said with a big grin.

Further touched, Jessie's hand covered her gaping mouth, "Really!?"

"Yes, really," Derek chuckled, pulling her in for a hug.

Jessie breathed, "Talia Jessica Hale, huh?"

"It's a beautiful name," Melissa determined.

"Thank you," Marissa said before slightly frowning. "We have some not so exciting news though..."

Jessie frowned knowingly as she pulled back into Scott's arm. "You're leaving Beacon Hills after all, aren't you?"

"What?" Scott chimed in. "You're leaving?"

The couple nodded, "We talked about it, and even if things are calming down some for now, there's always something else around the corner."

"We need to keep our daughter safe," Marissa said. "But we talked about staying close, so we can visit, or you can. We talked about San Francisco, or Monterrey, even Sacramento. And we did decide that we both want to come back to Beacon Hills for the wedding."

The group didn't catch that last word right away, but when they did, they all gasped. Melissa asked, "Did you just say wedding?"

Marissa laughed and nodded, holding her hand out with the ring. Melissa openly admired it as she and Jessie took a look. Scott gave Derek a congratulatory hug and let Gavin shake his hand before hugging Marissa too after Jessie and his mom had. "That's amazing, guys."

Derek and Marissa locked eyes. Yes – it was amazing.

* * *

"While I'm relieved to have Patrick back in our care, I still need to advise you against doing this, Alan. There's a reason this floor isn't listed in the brochure."

Deaton dragged his eyes away from the struggling wendigo he'd captured – rescuing a girl from becoming his latest meal – and delivered to Eichen House, to the doctor. "I came through on my end of our bargain. Now it's your turn. All I want to do is talk to him."

"The last person that went in to see Valack left the room but not the building. All they did was talk," the doctor warned.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Valack's room was divided down the middle with a clear glass wall with holes so he could be heard. It was spare, with not much more than a bed. And that was where he sat, reading a book, with gauze wrapped all the way around his head.

"Dr. Valack?"

"You must be important," the man spoke with a deep voice. "They don't usually let people get this close. They let me read. Unfortunately, all I get are these trashy romance novels. I've read this one seven times." He tossed the paperback in his hand on the pile of others.

"I was hoping we could talk. My name is Dr. Alan Deaton," Deaton kept his distance from the glass.

"Oh, I know your specialty, Dr. Deaton. And I know it's not cats and dogs," Valack sounded almost mocking and all-knowing as he stood in front of the glass to face the vet.

"I'm here because of what you know about South American mythology," Deaton said.

Valack smirked. "No. You want to know about Kate Argent. You want to know about La Loba. The Bone Woman."

"I need to know what she did to Derek Hale. And if he's dying," Deaton kept his tone calm, despite his urgency.

"Why?"

"Because of a promise I made. To a woman I loved," Deaton responded.

"Maybe you should write the romance novels," Valack taunted him. "If you want to know more, Dr. Deaton, you have to come closer."

Deaton eyed him, "I've been advised against that. I only want to talk. To hear what you know."

"You need to see what I know. You do that by coming closer," Valack insisted, reaching up to unwind the gauze from his head, revealing a gaping hole on his forehead between his eyes.

"I don't know much about trepanation, but I'm relatively certain that just because you drilled a hole in your own head, it doesn't mean you've somehow gifted yourself with extra-sensory perception," Deaton responded.

"Come a little closer. Take a look for yourself" Valack urged as if he knew Deaton would obey. And Deaton didn't understand why he started feeling compelled to step closer. "That's it. Come and have a look. Come on." Deaton found himself staring into the hole, seeing something just inside, and suddenly, it blinked, revealing another eye.

* * *

"Hey, sorry I'm back so late," Scott apologized late that night as he saw his mother in the kitchen when he got home. "I was closing up the Animal Clinic. I got more hours to earn a little extra... money."

He trailed off when he saw the gym bag of Garrett's deadpool money sitting on the kitchen. Melissa looked between the pile and him, "How much more did you need?"

"This is payment from the dead pool. I found it in Garrett's locker," Scott explained, hoping she didn't think worse than that.

"This belongs to Derek?" she asked. He nodded slowly. "So, you're just keeping it safe for him in a gym bag underneath your bed?" she asked him, but she knew that wasn't the whole situation. "How long have you had it?"

Scott let out a pained sigh, "Too long."

Melissa nodded thoughtfully, peering up at her son, "You know you have to give it back?"

"I was going to..." Scott started, but he didn't know what to say to her.

"Do I want to know why you haven't?" She cringed at what he could say.

"Because of you."

"Me?" She hadn't expected him to say that. But she saw how his eyes drew to the stack of their bills on the kitchen island counter. She let out a sigh, "You mean because we've been struggling a little?"

Scott gave her a look, "Mom, we're struggling a lot."

Melissa stared at her son, "Scott, you can save people's lives. But you cannot save them from life. Life is full of struggle."

"But it doesn't have to be," he argued. "Do you know what just one of these can do?" He picked up one stack, "This gets us a new roof." He picked up another, "And this pays for Stiles' MRI," and another, "This pays for Eichen House," and another, "And this one means you don't have to work the double shift at the hospital and come home totally exhausted."

Melissa stared at the money in his hands thoughtfully, and then reached over on the table to pick up her own stack from the pile, handing it to him. It was covered in blood. "What about this one?"

* * *

Violent sounds and fighting came from Liam's television and he and Mason played game after game against each other that night. Mason let out an, "Oh!" as he lost again and tossed his remote down. "When did you get so good? You been practicing? Or did you just suddenly get superhuman reflexes?"

Liam froze – he had suddenly gotten superhuman reflexes. "Uh... Practicing. Yeah, I've been practicing."

Mason sighed tired and started standing up, "And I should be studying."

"Where are you going?" Liam asked, sounding almost panicked at the idea of being alone.

Mason gave him a bit of a weird look, "Home? I got a History test tomorrow."

"Come on. One more game," Liam begged.

Mason chuckled, "Yeah, you said that four games ago."

Liam tried to think of something to keep him, "Study here. You can stay over. Come on, one more game. Just one."

Mason stopped, wondering why his best friend sounded so upset. "You okay?"

He wasn't okay. He was still far from okay. Any time he was alone he heard growling. And he saw beserkers around every corner. He's avoided Scott and his friends at school, not wanting to get dragged into that world and all the danger of it. And unfortunately, that lead to him avoiding Beth as well. But he couldn't put all of that on Mason's shoulders. So, he sighed, "Yeah. You're right. You should go. I should probably study too. See you at school."

After Mason somewhat reluctantly left, knowing something was wrong with Liam, Liam tried to go to bed. He hesitated to turn his light off, expecting some monster to be lurking in the shadows of his bedroom. But he chided himself for being scared of the dark and shut it off, quickly closing his eyes and trying to go to sleep.

But then he heard it. That growl. Deep and reverberating and animalistic. He clenched his eyes shut to try and block it out. But he could hear footsteps and heavy breathing that matched the beasts he'd been forced to fight off on the hospital rooftop. He opened his eyes to look and grew cold when he saw the monster in the shadows, approaching, getting closer.

He quickly laid back down and squeezed his eyes shut again, "You're not there. You're not there." But the growling got closer and closer, right in his ear. He shot up and turned his light on, opening his eyes to see nothing there. But he was still shaking.

* * *

Derek and Marissa were sleeping peacefully in their bed, Derek's hand practically stuck to the bump of Marissa's stomach, when the alarm went off. They both shook themselves awake and Derek whispered to his fiancé, "Stay here."

She nodded and watched with wracked nerves as he picked up his gun and headed down the stairs. He approached the door slowly, reaching to slide it open, aiming his gun for the intruder. He hadn't expected to see Lydia there, soaked to the bone. He was about to ask her what she was doing, when her lifeless eyes locked onto his and she opened her mouth the let out a harrowing scream.

* * *

"Stiles." Georgie shook her boyfriend's shoulders in the morning, but he just groaned and stayed asleep. "Stiles!"

"Hmm?" he mumbled, but still shifted onto his side and dug his head into the pillow.

"You've got an early morning practice for the big game tomorrow, remember?" she reminded him. "You do kind of need the practice."

He didn't react at all to her words. She groaned, "Stiles!" and knocked his shoulders again, but he didn't budge. She groaned under her breath until a light bulb went on over her head. She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him onto his back, straddling his waist and pressing her lips to hers. He suddenly came awake then, sliding his fingers into her hair.

He pulled away, still a big sleepy and confused, "What are you doing? I haven't even brushed my teeth yet."

"I don't care. Have to wake you up somehow," she teased him.

He shrugged and brought her back on top of him for another make out session.

* * *

Scott and Jessie were quiet for the most part in her car as she gave him a ride to Derek's to return the money. After a moment, the closer they got, he broke the silence, "You always thought I should give the money back, didn't you?"

"Yes," she answered honestly, without judgment.

"Why didn't you say anything when we found it?" he asked curiously.

"I knew you would on your own," she answered confidently.

He gave her a look. How did she have so much faith in him? "How?  _I_  didn't even know if I would. I was seriously considering not..."

"I know Scott, but I also know you," Jessie replied evenly. "You have never taken the easy way out of things. As long as I've known you, you've been strict to your moral code. I've never even caught you cheating on a test, even when your grades were down. Even Stiles has cheated off of me or Lydia once or twice. So... I knew even if you were tempted to keep it, you wouldn't. Because that's just not you. But you needed to remember that for yourself and make the decision on your own. You didn't need me to just tell you who you are."

Scott gazed at her as they approached the building. He was in awe of this woman. And he felt unbelievably happy to call her his.

But when they got up to the loft and showed Derek the bag of money, he just peered at it and tossed it on the coffee table casually. "Okay."

Scott gaped at him, "Don't you wanna know why it took so long to return it?"

Derek gave him a knowing look, "How much do you make at the Animal Clinic?"

"Minimum wage," he answered.

Derek nodded as if it confirmed what he already knew, "That's why. Everyone can be tempted, Scott. Even a True Alpha."

"You're not angry?" he checked.

Derek shook his head uncaring, "It's not even mine. It belongs to Peter."

Scott frowned, "Where's your money?"

Derek gestured to the floor with his eyes, "You're standing on it."

Scott peered at the ground under his feet and looked at Derek with wide eyes, whispering scandalously, "There's another vault?"

Derek chuckled, "No. I own the building. And I have my own bank accounts. All the money from the vault was Peter's. I think we'd actually be better off if the rest never came back."

"Our thoughts as well," Jessie hummed, taking Scott's hand.

Derek stood from the couch and zipped up the bag, looking at Scott quizzically when they hadn't made their leave for school. Was there more?

"I know Lydia was here last night," Scott said. Derek's face fell, he was hoping they wouldn't hear about that. A banshee showing up at his house late at night in a fugue state and screaming in his face definitely wasn't a good sign. Scott added, "Deaton's still working on figuring out what Kate did to you. If anyone can find an answer, it's him."

* * *

Lydia still felt like she was in a fugue state in economics class that day, staring ahead as they waited for class to start. Malia kept trying to get her attention, "Lydia? Lydia. Did you hear me?" until she finally looked over and saw Malia proudly holding up her math test for her to see. "Look. I passed."

"C-minus," she observed blandly.

"Your notes are great when they're not written in code," Malia said, taking the C-minus like it was an A. But her smile was wiped away when Coach slapped a test from his class onto her desk with a big fat F on it.

"Disappointed, Malia. Profoundly disappointed," he said before moving on.

Kira reached up from her seat behind her and put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Lydia offered, "I'll send you my notes," before facing the front of class. Her eyes landed on the words on the blackboard and she froze.

NET WORTH AT TIME OF DEATH ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION...

Kira caught her look and whispered, "It's over. The computers are off. No more assassins. No more murders. No one's dying."

But all Lydia could say was, "Not yet."

* * *

Beth was sure she looked like a crazed woman on a mission in the hallways between classes while she searched for Liam. She hadn't had one conversation with him since the deadpool was taken down and she knew it was his own doing. She didn't understand. Last time they had spoken she was comforting him about his fears. She thought it had been a nice afternoon despite what was happening elsewhere. But ever since, he seemed to run away from her like she was the plague. And she was hurt.

So, when she saw him about to enter the locker room, she marched up to him before he could disappear again, "Liam, we have to talk."

He gaped at her, a little caught off guard. He hadn't noticed her. He stammered, "Um, well, maybe later. I'm meeting Mason..."

"Not later," she growled, blocking him from walking away. "I know you're avoiding me. What I don't know is why?"

"I'm not avoiding you," he tried.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh, please. Do you think I was born yesterday? Look, I know what's happened is really scary. I had nightmares for weeks after I found out about Jessie, but-"

"But what?" he finally snapped, brewing quietly. "I didn't ask for any of this, okay? Scott bit me!"

Beth glared at him, "Would you have rather fallen to your death or become a wendigo meal?"

Liam grew more flustered, "I understand that he did it to save my life. But that doesn't mean I have to be like him, heading right into dangerous fights over and over again, putting my life at risk. I don't understand how any of them do it – including you."

Beth frowned, "Me?"

"Yeah, you!" he said a little loudly. "Why are you dumb enough to get involved in this stuff? You're human – you can't do anything!"

He didn't miss the way she flinched at his words, and he immediately felt guilty for hurting her. But before he could say anything, Mason was walking over, "Hey Beth."

"Hey Mason," she whispered so softly he almost didn't hear her.

Mason frowned as he looked between the two of them, "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Beth said a bit more firmly, looking and him and then meeting Liam's eyes. "I think we're done here," she said before she walked away, leaving Liam behind her frowning like a kicked puppy.

But Liam ignored Mason's questioning looks as they changed for the weight room and he stacked on the weights for his bar bell.

"That's a lot of weight," Mason observed warily, lifting his smaller weights in his hands.

"I'm trying to get ready for the game tomorrow," Liam claimed, sitting on the bench.

"You need a spot?" he offered.

"No," he said shortly, eyeing the smaller eights in Mason's hands. "Do you?"

Mason scoffed, "This is my warm-up, you ass." He put them down and moved to the bar by Liam.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Liam asked, sitting up.

"I'm spotting you," Mason said as if it was obvious.

"I said I don't need one," Liam insisted.

Mason's eyes bugged, "Are you kidding me? This is like 300 pounds. You're gonna kill yourself."

With a determined gleam in his eye, Liam lied down on the bench and proceeded to life the bench of weight down and back up, locking it before sitting up and giving Mason a cocky look, "Do I look like I need help?"

Mason just stared at his friend, not understanding his attitude, first with Beth and now here with him, and just walked off as Liam lied back down to start benching again. Liam pushed through the weight with his new strength, trying to block out all he was feeling. But as always when he was alone, he heard growling, and could feel a beserker looming closer to him. And all of the sudden the weight was becoming too much for him, and he struggled to lock it into place on any of the notches before it fell onto his chest. He thrashed under the weight, groaning and choking for a long terrifying moment.

But then Scott was there to save him – again – with a frantic Mason behind him. He lifted the bar up with one hand and quickly locked it. Liam sat back up, coughing, hacking.

"Liam?" Scott crouched in front of him to check on him.

"I'm fine," he insisted.

Scott knew that he really wasn't. He had found Beth near tears in the hallway and knew why. He spoke quietly to Liam, so Mason couldn't hear, "If you don't want to be with us, that's okay. But don't push your friends away too." No matter what, he didn't want Liam to be alone.

Liam stared over his shoulder at his friend, feeling guilty for how he'd snapped at both him and Beth.

* * *

"Why are we going to the loft instead of the cabin?" Jessie asked as Scott drove her car back to Derek's building after school. It was finally time for their first real date as a couple. It was about time after all. And Scott wanted total privacy. Gavin was preparing to move into their house that weekend and things were quiet in the supernatural world. They needed to take time for themselves.

"Derek and Marissa are out all night," Scott said. "It's closer."

Jessie gave him a bit of side-eye as they approached the door, "What did you do?"

He just gave her a secretive smile as he slid the door open. They walked in and she tried to look around, but it was nearly pitch black. "I can't see anything. Can you turn on the lights?"

"Yeah," he said, reaching to the wall and flipping on the switch. Jessie gasped when not one light but many hanging bald light bulbs lit up throughout the room, filling the area with a soft warm light. Scott looked at her nervously, but still smiling, "Did I do okay? For our first real date?"

"Yes, you did," she said, kissing his cheek.

"Did you bring the movie?" he asked.

She nodded, pulling the DVD out, "Stiles did a little happy dance when I asked to borrow it. He says he's going to kill you if you don't watch it." They smiled but Jessie grimaced when something occurred to her, "Derek doesn't have a TV..."

Scott cringed since he hadn't thought of that. But they set up the film on his computer, cuddling together on the couch. "So, this is the fourth one?"

"No, it's the first movie, but they made the fourth in the series first," she tried to explain.

He frowned, "Then what's the first one?"

"The fourth one they made," she chuckled. "It doesn't matter." She reached out and shut the laptop, giving Scott a little grin as she leaned towards him and pressed her lips to his. He likes the new direction she was taking the evening, eagerly pulling her onto his lap. She pressed her lips more firmly over his, scratching her fingers through his hair as he cupped her face with one hand and trailed the other up her thigh, under the hem of her sundress. He had been pleasantly surprised when he saw she put on a dress for their date, and now he was rather glad she did.

She had just started sliding the straps of her dress down her shoulders when they both froze, hearing some distant growling. "What the hell...?"

Suddenly, two forms crashed into the loft through the window, glass raining on the floor as Kate in full jaguar form and one of her beserkers landed on their feet.

Jessie and Scott instantly stood up and the vampire could already feel her eyes glowing cobalt. But before either of them could do or say anything, they were attacked. Kate made a bee-line for Jessie, slashing and striking, to which Jessie dodged and kicked out, hitting her stomach and knocking her away.

Scott was being practically pummeled by the beserker, smacked to the ground soon after coming to blows. Before he had even got back up, the beserker picked him up and carried him over its head before tossing him into the wall.

Jessie had landed another kick to Kate's face, and it looked like she would get one over on Kate. But then an object suddenly whirred into the room and landed in the center of the floor. Green gas started spraying from it, making Jessie and Scott choke. Jessie looked over to see a black pointed witches' hat, and the blood drained from her as she fell to her knees.

Scott groaned as he was barely able to drag himself into a seated position against a pillar, "What do you want from us?"

"I want a little bit of insight, Scott," Kate sauntered over to him, looming over his head.

"To what?" he gasped.

"My family," she drawled. "The Argent family has been around for over 400 years. A powerful, wealthy, aristocratic family of werewolf hunters. But yet somehow, in less than a year, this great family is decimated by a teenage boy. So, my question is simple. What the hell is so special about Scott McCall?"

Scott stared up at her, "You want me? Take me. Just me."

Kate chuckled, "Don't worry. I don't want to do anything to your girlfriend. She's got a date with someone else."

Heels clicked on the floor as the bone and skin woman with white-blonde hair practically levitated in from the broken window. Hilda smirked, standing over Jessie, "Hello again."

Kate laughed menacingly, "We're all going to church!"


	20. Transmutation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter

 

Stiles was working at his desk on his math homework while Georgie laid out on his bed, eyes glazing over her science textbook, when Alec walked in, "Drop what you're doing. I'm taking you both out to dinner. Whatever you want."

"We're what?" Stiles asked. "Can you... do that?" He knew most of their hospital bills had been paid off, but he knew there were still worries.

But his father grinned and produced a piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to Stiles.

"What is it?"

"A letter of apology from Eichen House. Apparently, they've decided to pay back our bill to make up for..." he trailed off, grimacing at the reasons. "Well, you guys and Lydia almost getting murdered."

Stiles jumped up, "I have never been so happy to have almost been murdered."

Georgie laughed at his antics.

Alec clapped his hand on his son's shoulder, happy enough as well, "We're going to be okay. And at least for the moment, I can afford to take my son and his girlfriend out to dinner. Georgie, is Italian still your favorite?"

Georgie grinned widely, "You bet."

* * *

Once again, Liam was desperately trying to distract himself from his fears and anxieties and his inevitable string of groveling for Beth's forgiveness, by hovering in his room with Mason.

"I know something's going on," Mason told him, sitting next to him on the bed. "I know you don't want to talk about it. But you're still my best friend. And, um... considering the fact that the last good friend I made turned out to be a professional killer, I'm thinking that I don't have too many options for new ones. So, when you're ready to talk, talk." When and how did Liam land such an amazing best friend? Mason suddenly grinned, "Until then, I know I can kick your ass in at least one of these games."

Liam smirked, reaching into the pile and picking one out, "Never played this one."

They were playing for close to three hours when Mason finally spoke up again about something serious. "You know you have to make it up to Beth though, right?"

Liam sighed, "Yeah, I know."

"I mean, I don't even know what you guys were talking about," he said. "But I know she looked pretty upset earlier. You might have to beg for forgiveness."

"I know," Liam agreed.

And so, the next day, Liam looked everywhere for Beth in the halls between classes. It sucked that they didn't have any classes together. It was close to the end of the day when he finally caught sight of her at the end the hall, behind a host of moving teenagers.

"Beth!" he called, but over the roar of students excited for the big game, she couldn't hear him.

"Beth!" he tried again, but one of her friends had flagged her down further down the hallway and she disappeared. He hadn't known that she had heard that last attempt to get her attention but was still too stung to talk to him.

To make matters worse, the real game against Devenford was going to start soon and he hadn't seen Scott all day. Or Jessie. Stiles didn't seem as bothered, "Everything's fine. I got a text from him this morning and he said he might be a little late."

"Well, how late is late? Is he always late?" Liam badgered him as they walked into the locker room. "We're playing Devenford Prep again and this time it's an actual game. He shouldn't be late."

Those words grabbed Coach's attention nearby, "Who shouldn't be late?"

Stiles hesitated. "Scott and Jessie. They might be slightly late."

Those words seemed to blow Coach's mind as he stammered, "Slightly late is still late. What are they doing?"

"They're doing something that's going to make them slightly late," Stiles stammered, finding the whole conversation awkward. He didn't want to think about what Scott and Jessie were doing.

But Coach didn't get it yet. "What could Scott and Jessie be doing right now that's more important than playing in the first game?"

Liam and Stiles just stared at him. The reason was obvious wasn't it? Scott and Jessie, alone?

"Oh, Coach," Stiles murmured when he saw the realization dawn on the older man's face finally.

But time wore on and soon Liam and Stiles were on the bench in their uniforms waiting for the game to start. His knee bounced up and down as he looked around. He saw Georgie and the Sheriff walking over and sitting with Beth. He saw Mason in the stands. He saw Malia sitting off on her own, before Kira joined her. But still no Scott or Jessie.

"They're still not here," he gritted his teeth.

"Okay, what's really going on?" Stiles asked. "Are you nervous about the full moon? It's not for another 24 hours."

Liam gazed up at the almost-full moon warily.

Stiles huffed, "Liam, you're gonna be fine. Okay? Just try not to rage out on anyone."

Liam gave him a look, "You're not worried?"

"Okay, I'm mildly concerned. Mildly," Stiles stressed, but he still pulled out his phone and texted Scott again, with the phrase very worried.

"We're gonna lose without him," Liam said.

"No, we're not," Stiles insisted. "We can be just as good without Scott. Okay? I've been practicing. Let me tell you something. I'm getting good. Really good."

But of course, when the game started, Stiles flopped. He lost the ball as quickly as he got it in his net, he tripped over his cleats, and he got tackled three times over. On the line tackle by two green jerseys, Liam stood over him, wondering when the 'really good' started.

Stiles groaned, "Yeah. I'm gonna call Scott again."

* * *

Jordan didn't like the smell of the water plant underground pipes as he moved through them looking for Peter. It was dark and wet and didn't smell all that great. But he knew something wasn't okay with Peter and didn't think they should have let him go.

He heard some kind of pained groaning and rounded a corner with his piece and flashlight, shining it on Chris Argent's face. The man was pinned to the wall by a serrated metal pipe that had been stabbed through his midsection and bent in front of him, so he couldn't simply walk forward to pull it out and get off of the wall. Before the deputy said anything, he looked around, knowing whoever did this to him could still be here.

"They're gone," Chris groaned.

Now knowing the coast was clear, Jordan put his light down and raced over, "How long have you been like this?"

"I don't know," he groaned, head lolling weakly. "Might have blacked out a few times."

"Peter Hale did this?" Jordan guessed.

Chris lifted his eyes. "You were following him?"

"Every day since Meredith Walker."

With as much effort as he had left and a little urgency, Chris said, "Listen to me. Kate's going after Scott. Peter and Kate. You've got to warn them."

"I can't. There's no service down here," Jordan told him. He'd already checked his phone when he first got down there and saw no bars.

"Then just go," Chris gasped out.

"If I leave right now, you'll be dead by the time I get back," he pointed out. "We're getting you out of here."

* * *

"Come on!" Coach shouted angrily as the ref's whistle blew after Devenford made yet another goal against Beacon Hills.

On the bench, Stiles was staring at his phone void of any responses to his texts to both Scott and Jessie. "All right. Neither of them are answering. I gotta go see what's going on."

"You're leaving?" Liam gaped. "What are you going to tell Coach?"

Stiles thought of making up an excuse for Coach but looked over to see the man throwing a slight tantrum, tossing his clipboard on the ground and shouting, "Stupid! Stupid old..."

"Uh, you don't tell him anything. Okay?" he decided. "Liam, you're gonna be okay. All right?"

Liam nodded small as Stiles left. He approached his dad, sitting with Georgie and Beth and told them, "Scott and Jessie still aren't answering any of my texts or calls today. What about you?"

Beth chewed on her lip and shook her head. She hadn't seen her sister at all. She'd tried calling twice and texting but got nothing back. Neither had she gotten anything from Scott, and she knew he'd answer her if he thought she was worried.

"Let's go see if we can find them," Alec said, already standing.

"Want us to stay here if he shows up?" Georgie offered.

"Yes," Stiles said, giving her a quick kiss before following his dad off the field.

Beth bounced her knees, trapping her clenched hands on her lap, as she stared out at the field.

"Liam! Get on the field!" Coach yelled, and she saw Liam staring over at them, before he got startled enough to run into the game.

Beth watched and cringed as the game went on. She noticed Brett had gotten the ball and was heading right passed Liam. But Liam seemed completely frozen in place.

"Liam, for the love of God, move!" Coach shouted.

But when Liam finally seemed to unfreeze, Brett had already passed him and made the shot.

* * *

Jessie was disoriented when she woke up and strained when she realized her hands were shackled above her head on a wall, holding her up. She looked around and saw she was in some kind of circular room with iron bars and bones littering the ground. She hissed in pain as she felt like something was burning into her wrists. Looking up, she saw that her shackles were coated in something gooey and red. And she knew what it had to be – dead man's blood. It was something vampires couldn't live off of. It made them sick. Her skin was breaking out into hives at the contact.

"Scott?" she whimpered, her hair falling haphazardly into her eyes.

"Scott!" she yelled, her voice echoing all around her. She tried to pull free from the shackles, but that only proved to make them dig more into her skin and seer into her. If she broke the skin and the dead blood got in, it may poison her.

"SCOTT!"

* * *

Alex did not understand why Lydia had showed up at his apartment, or how she even knew where it was. She didn't have much in the way of explanation either. Just that since he felt like death, she could somehow find him. She didn't know if that was because he had died and come back, or if it marked him for death again. But she said she needed his backup for something more pressing. He felt uneasy waltzing into Eichen House again after the last time they were there, but dutifully followed her.

"Still nothing. I think we're going to have to move him to the sixth floor," they heard a doctor saying.

Lydia marched in, seeing what she had feared, a comatose Deaton on the hospital bed. "You're not taking him anywhere."

The doctor looked startled upon her arrival, "Well, unless you're family, I don't think you can make that decision."

"We're close enough," she quipped. "Let me talk to him."

He looked skeptical, "He's not responding to any stimuli. We can talk to him, but there's no way of knowing he's actually hearing us."

"Trust me on this. He'll hear me."

* * *

Beth flinched harshly when she saw Brett completely body check Liam, earning a whistle.

Liam groaned as he fell on the ground, glaring up at his 'rival.' "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Because you're afraid," Brett goaded him. "I can smell it on you from across the field. Are you hurt?"

"No," Liam said.

"Are you still alive?"

"Obviously," Liam spat.

"Then get up," Brett spurred him on.

Liam stood just as the referee reached them. "You good to play?" He nodded. The man gave Brett a look, "You planning on pulling something like that again?"

Brett just smirked at Liam, "Only if I have to."

* * *

Malia was glad Kira was in the game when Peter stalked over and sat next to her in the bleachers. "So, who's winning?"

"I told you not to come here," she growled.

"If you want to have a clandestine meeting you need to choose a clandestine location," he retorted.

"After what happened with you and Meredith, I'm pretty sure I can do without any kind of one-on-one father-daughter time," she told him.

"How about mother-daughter time?" he asked, earning her attention. "That's right. I found our Desert Wolf."

Malia had to admit she was desperate for answers about her mother. "Is she definitely my mother?"

"Yes," he said. "But if you want to find her, you're going to have to do something for me. Something that's come naturally to you for a very long time."

She knew there had to be a catch. Even if he was her father, he wouldn't help her unless he benefited. "Do you always have to get something in return?"

"When it's something I can't do on my own? Yes," he said casually.

"What do you want?"

He looked at her like he'd caught her in his web. "I want you to kill Kate Argent."

* * *

Even if he'd gotten some sense knocked into him by Brett, it hadn't been enough to save the game, and they lost miserably. Liam was sulking in the locker room alone once the team cleared out. Or at least, he was alone until Brett wandered over. "You okay?"

He shrugged. "We lost."

"But you're okay, right?" Brett pointed out. Worst case scenario – at least where lacrosse in concerned – had happened and he was fine.

"Why'd you do that?" Liam asked. "Why'd you help me?"

"Because of Scott," Brett said clearly. "He saved me. He saved all of us. Do you know how lucky you are?"

Liam frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Scott's a True Alpha," Brett explained like he was calling Scott an angel. "That means he didn't get his power because he was born with it. He didn't get it by stealing or killing someone. He earned it. You're not strong just because you can lift a lot of weight now. You're strong because you endure. Satomi calls it strength of character. You're lucky to have him." With his piece said, Brett made his way out of the locker room, leaving Liam alone again.

Liam stared ahead, knee bouncing again, "Then why isn't he here?"

* * *

Jordan had tried again and again to bend the metal bar back so Chris could get out. But it didn't want to give, and Chris screamed bloody murder during his attempts. Taking another break, Jordan panted, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I can't do it myself. It's not bending back and it's not coming out of the wall."

"Leave," Chris tried again. He was starting to want to pass out again.

"I can't do that either," Jordan told him, determined. "I need you to help me. I know you're hurt and tired, but I need you to gather everything you've got and help me."

"I've got nothing," Chris told him, panting in pain, head hanging down.

"Grab the bar, sir," the deputy tried to encourage him.

"I've got nothing left. Please, go. Just go. You're running out of time," Chris begged him.

"You know what you need? Adrenaline," Jordan coached him. "There's two ways to get it. Fear and anger. Since you don't look like a guy who's afraid of anything, you need to get angry. You need to get so angry that your brain lets loose every bit of adrenaline it has left!"

Chris threw up his head against the stone behind him and almost cried, "I'm too tired to be angry."

"Okay," Jordan sighed, trying to think of a way to motivate this man to want to get out of this alive. "I don't know much about you or what you've been through. But Georgie told me some of it. And I know about Allison. I know how she felt about Scott. And I think if she knew what was happening to him, she'd be pretty angry. At least angry enough to try one more time to get the hell out of here. So whatever trigger you need, if it's Allison, or your sister, or Peter, use it. Use it right now."

Chris thought of his daughter. She had been in love with Scott to her dying breath, and so dedicated to her friends that she died protecting them. She had even been trying to help them with her last words, helping them to survive, to defeat the Oni that had slain her. She had the fighting spirit. And he needed to find that within himself now. For her.

So, he and Jordan both folded their hands on the bar and started bending it. He screamed through the pain, determined now to make it out.

* * *

Stiles and his dad jogged up the stairs leading to Derek's loft as quick as they could. When they arrived, the door was already wide open, and they walked in, feeling like they were walking into the scene of a crime. The table was in shatters, some of the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling were dead or broken. There had definitely been a fight. And there was – for some reason – a black witch's hat in the center of the room.

Derek, Marissa, Connor, and Braeden were already there, assessing the damage.

The Sheriff was gaping at the room, "What the hell happened?"

"It was supposed to be a date," Derek explained, gesturing to the lights. But it had obviously gone wrong.

"They were both here?" Stiles asked, noticing the completely shattered window at the end of the loft.

Connor added, "And they're both gone."

Stiles' phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to see Lydia's name. "Hey."

Her voice sounded urgent as she told him what he already knew, "Scott's been taken."

"Scott and Jessie," he sighed. "We just don't know where."

He was surprised when Deaton chimed in, "Mexico. And if you want to save their lives, that's where you're going too."

"Okay, but there's one more thing," Stiles accepted their mission, but had to ask. "Does a pointy black witch hat mean anything to you?"

At the vet clinic, Lydia and Deaton were frowning in confusion. But Alex's face – usually unflappable – had gone white. "Shit. It's Hilda. She must have paired up with Kate to get to Jessie." He looked at Lydia, face completely overtaken by determination, "We need to get to them. Now."

* * *

When Scott woke up, he tried to move but found his wrists and ankles bound in leather straps and vines of wolfsbane, cascading over the rest of his body. He could hear the slight rumbling of beserkers flanking him when suddenly he heard Kate's malicious voice.

"Tell me, Scott. They ever teach you the myth of Artemis and Actaeon in school?" she asked him, her boots thudding on the stone ground as she approached him. When he didn't answer she just feigned disappointment, "No? I didn't think so. Well, Artemis was a goddess. And Actaeon was a hunter that happened to see Artemis bathing naked one day. This did not make the goddess too happy. In fact, she was so angry, Artemis turned Actaeon into a deer and this sent his own hounds into a frenzy. He was actually torn apart by his own hunting dogs." She seemed to find some glee in the mythical violence as she picked up a hollowed-out skull that looked just like the beserker's masks. Scott gaped when he saw that they had some kind of straps on them.

"What are you doing?"

She chuckled at his question. "I'm not gonna turn you into a  _deer_. But you are about to become something unrecognizable to your friends." She started walking around the table, holding the mask over his face, "They won't know what they're fighting. Or killing."

Scott started struggling with his bounds, thrashing desperately to get out of them, "Kate, hold on..." But she just grinned as she started lowering it onto his face and he begged for her to stop and screamed for her not to, "No, Kate, no. No, Kate. Don't. No, no. No! Wait. No, no! Kate, don't! No! Stop! Wait, no!"


	21. Forever Again

 

When Jessie came to from her third time passing out, she was no longer shackled to the wall, but lying on the pile of bones. She looked up and saw that one door of bars was gaping open as well. She knew it was a trap of some sorts, but she didn't care. The alternative was staying in that room that wreaked of dead man's blood. So, she pushed herself up and wandered out into the practically maze that was hiding under the Mexican Church. "Scott?"

It was almost too dark to see, so she triggered her eyes to glow cobalt and act as a light source for her as she walked through the tunnels of La Iglesia. She was still panting from the pain in her wrists until she heard some guttural growling.

She turned a corner and saw a beserker at the end of the tunnel. But he wasn't moving. He was standing there, acting like a statue or gate keeper. She was about to turn back and try another way, but when she turned, there was another beserker. And this one wasn't going to just stand there.

He attacked her, grabbing her and slamming her into the wall. He held her up against it and slammed her again and again. She was going to fight back. She could feel her fangs coming out and her nails sharpening, but when she saw his eyes, she saw Scott. His eyes were blank and unfeeling, but they were his. So, even if it meant the worse for her, she couldn't fight back. He slammed her against the other wall, when a slightly higher pitched growl made him stop.

Almost like an obedient dog, he tossed Jessie onto the floor.

Kate waltzed in, tsking her tongue, and fingered the arm band tattoo on Scott's arm, "I'm going to have to do a better job of covering that up."

"I didn't need a fucking tattoo to know that it's him, you psychotic bitch," Jessie spat at her, blood spraying from her mouth. "What did you do to him?"

"How," Kate corrected her, starting to circle. "That's... That's the better story. You see, when I first got away from the Calaveras, I had no idea where to go. But something kept pulling me here, to the temple of Tezcatlipoca. His name means "smoking mirror" and this place is a temple of the smoking mirror. Obsidian. When I got here, I found the Berserkers waiting for me. They helped me survive. I didn't know quite why until just recently." She scoffed as she leaned into Jessie's face. "Until I decided to trust someone, I never thought I'd trust."

"Peter," Jessie said with a knowing scowl.

Kate grinned at her like she was on a game show, "Ding, ding, ding. You see, it was then that I found out I could not only control the Berserkers," she walked back to Scott, stroking the front of his armor made out of a rib cage, "but I could create them. They call me La Loba. "The Bone Woman." We let you out because I needed to test his loyalty. Scott became an Alpha without having to kill anyone. He's been through quite a lot without ever having to kill. I think it's time to change that."

Jessie's glowing eyes widened when Scott took out a bone blade from his hip and advanced on her. She started crawling away, "Scott, no. It's me, Jessie. You need to take your control back." But he still advanced on her, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her back up against the wall. "Scott, please!" He lifted the blade up and stabbed it through her stomach, watching emotionless as she let out a shrill cry of pain. It was then she could feel, that the blade had been coated with dead man's blood.

* * *

"You are not going to Mexico!" Stilinski told his son and girlfriend as they met in his office.

"Dad, Scott and Jessie have been kidnapped and taken to Mexico," Stiles emphasized. "Okay? I think that's a pretty good reason for a trip to Mexico."

"Kate took them back to that same Church. We know it," Georgie added.

The Sheriff took a deep breath, "Okay. Even if Deaton is right about this... The best thing to do is to go through the proper channels."

"Dad..." Stiles started to argue.

But he went on, "That means calling the right law enforcement agencies, border patrol, putting out an all-points."

"Dad, I can't just wait around for the wheels of bureaucracy to start spinning in five different government offices. Okay?" Stiles replied, getting more frustrated and antsy by the second. "Someone needs to go down there right now, find them and rescue them. We're going."

The Sheriff gave his son a look, leaning on his desk, "I can keep you from going."

"I'd find a way," Stiles pointed out softly.

"I can throw you in a cell," his father argued.

Georgie tentatively raised her hand, "Hi – hello. Witch who can travel anywhere magically? I may not be able to make it all the way to Mexico in one go, but I can make it on the other side of a cell."

The Sheriff sighed, "Guys, please. Just give me a little more time to verify something slightly more concrete than a psychic vision by some guy with a third eye!" He paced back around to his door and shifted, "Look, I will call every law enforcement agency all the way down to South America if I have to. If nothing turns up, then I'll book two flights to Mexico. We'll all go. Okay?"

"Okay, okay, great," Stiles eagerly agreed. "Do I get a gun?"

"Please don't give him a gun," Georgie immediately added.

"I'm with her on that," the Sheriff agreed with a laugh.

* * *

Marissa watched as Derek laid out all the weapons he and Braeden were taking with them to Mexico to try and take down the beserkers. Derek sighed, "I still don't like relying on these things. I don't like feeling helpless."

Marissa walked over and rested her hand on his on the table, "Do you really think you won't be coming back?"

He didn't answer definitively, but looked her in the eyed, "I put the building and the bank accounts in your name. The car too. You'll be okay."

"No, I won't. We won't be okay without you," she said, tears building in her eyes. "You know I don't like this."

"If it saves Scott and Jessie, then I have to do what I have to do," he told her, pulling her closer and pressing their lips together. When he pulled away, he sighed as he took in the weapons again, "But to be honest, I don't even know if this is enough firepower to take down one Berserker."

"Not even close," Peter's voice rang as he appeared down the stairs. "Killing a Berserker is next to impossible. It's not just the firepower, it's breaking the animal spirit from the human."

"Well, the one person we know with that kind of experience is Argent," Derek said. "And he's not getting back to me."

"Well, then you're going to need help. Like Malia, maybe Liam. Definitely me," the older werewolf smirked.

* * *

Stiles dug through Scott's closet for something Malia could catch a scent off of. He tossed a jacket so haphazardly behind him that it almost smacked Kira in the face. Luckily, Malia caught it. She sniffed at it and said, "Fabric softener."

He sighed. Nothing in the closet would work. He ran over to the bathroom and dipped his hand into the hamper, pulling out a pair of blue boxers. Georgie's nose scrunched up, "Stiles – gross."

He grimaced too, "Remember, Scott's life is on the line."

Malia ignored the boxers and picked up the pillow, taking a deep sniff, "Smells like him and Jessie."

Stiles nodded, "Yeah. That works, too."

The four of them started cascading down the stairs and saw Liam in the kitchen. The young beta eagerly stood at attention when he saw them coming.

"Liam, go home," Stiles immediately said. "You're not coming with us."

"Why not?" Liam whined.

"Because it's a full moon," Stiles argued. "And I don't feel like driving all the way down to Mexico just to have you rip my throat out."

"You can lock me up, right?" Liam asked. "Chain me down to the back seat or something?"

"You broke out last time, remember?" Georgie reminded him.

"Yeah, we would have to freeze you in carbonite to get you down there," Stiles muttered.

"Okay, then where do we get carbonite?" Liam asked, not understanding the Star Wars reference.

"Seriously, you haven't seen it either?" Stiles murmured. He would have to hold a group movie marathon when all of this was over.

"Stiles forget about the movie," Georgie complained. "We need to go!"

They all made to leave but Liam yelled, "Wait! What if we put me in the trunk?"

"You'd get out of that, too," Stiles said exasperated. "Liam, you've been a werewolf all of five minutes. You don't have to do this."

"I know I don't, but I want to," Liam said earnestly. He felt he had a lot to make up for. Scott was his Alpha. And Brett was right, he was lucky to have him. And he shouldn't have treated Beth so badly. So, if he could help get her sister back, and Scott too, he would. "There's gotta be bigger chains, a bigger trunk or something. There has to be."

"Maybe there is," Stiles thought out loud.

* * *

Stiles, the girls, and Liam waited in the parking structure of the warehouse for Braeden, Derek, and Connor to show up with the prison transport van they would keep Liam in, so he didn't freak out on them while driving down to Mexico.

"How did you get a prison transport van?" Stiles asked when they arrived.

The bounty hunter deadpanned, "I'm a U.S. Marshal."

"Yeah, I just thought that was just a cover," he muttered, earning no explanation other than a blank stare.

Derek hopped out of the passenger's seat with Connor, jerking his chin towards Liam, "Are we really bringing him?"

Stiles pointed to Peter who got out of the car, "Are we really bringing him?"

Peter looked unbearably smug, "We're bringing everyone that we can. And considering Scott and Jessie were taken the night before a full moon, we should probably get going."

"What's that mean?" Kira asked.

Peter gave her a look, "If Kate took Scott back to the same temple that she took Derek, how do we know she's not planning to do the same thing to him?"

"What, she wants to make him younger?" Stiles asked.

"Or take him back to when he wasn't a werewolf," Derek said, thinking about his lost powers.

"A werewolf can't steal a true Alpha's power," Peter said. "But maybe a Nagual jaguar, with the power of Tezcatlipoca behind her... Maybe she can. So, if everyone is sufficiently freaked out, I say we get going."

"Not without the others," Georgie insisted.

"Who else are we waiting for?" Braeden asked.

Then, a burly blue four-door rolled in and screeched briefly as it stopped in front of them. Everyone grew quiet for a moment as Alex hopped out of the car. They were about to greet him, but then the passenger's side door opened up. They all expected Lydia. But Beth walked out.

"Beth?" Liam asked, confused to see her. "What are you doing here?"

She just glared at him, "I'm here to get my sister and her boyfriend back."

Liam deflated at her words, feeling guilty for how he'd treated her, knowing she wasn't going to entertain an apology at the moment.

"I'm going to try Lydia again," Georgie said, pulling her phone out to call the girl. She tapped her foot up and down while she waited for Lydia to answer but she just got her voicemail. "Nothing."

"What's she doing at the school anyway?" Derek asked.

"We needed something of Jessie's with a stronger scent on it, with just her scent," Beth said. "She spends so much time jumping between our house, Scott's house, or Connor's loft that we can't find anything with a strong scent that hasn't been washed with fabric softener."

"If she has a car, she can catch up to us," Braeden decided.

"That's a good point," Peter urged them on. "We'll call her from the road."

"No," Stiles denied. "What if something happened? What if she's in trouble?"

Peter huffed, "Fine. You stay, you find her. We're gonna go on without you."

Liam, eager to help, said, "I could call Mason. He has a study group at school. Maybe he could look for her."

Stiles sighed, "All right. Fine."

The groups started to disperse into their cars. Derek, Stiles, Braeden, and Connor decided to ride in the prison transport van with Liam to watch over him. Alex and Beth took his car with Malia, Kira, and Georgie in the back seat. That left poor little Peter all alone, but nobody cared about that.

"Remember what we're dealing with," Peter warned them all before they left. "It's not just Kate, it's Berserkers. You might see human eyes behind those skulls. Do not assume that there's any humanity left." He paused with a smirk as he heard Liam's heartbeat jump, "Oh. This little one is terrified of them, aren't you?" He chuckled under his breath, "Don't worry, my friend. It is that fear that will keep you alive. A reminder to everyone. You do not fight Berserkers to survive, you fight to kill."

* * *

Mason held his phone up to his ear as he walked around the buses to the parking lot of the school. He saw Lydia's blue car parked there. "Yeah, her car's here. You want me to look around the school and see if I can find her?"

Liam said, "Yeah, definitely. Call me as soon as you find her."

After they hung up, Mason started looking through the school, calling her name. It seemed like no one was around, and he found no sign of Lydia. That was until he saw her jacket and cell phone dropped on some stairs in the hallway. "No wonder she's not answering," he murmured as he picked up the phone. He tried to swipe the screen open, and it did. To a photo of a blurry skull. "What the hell?"

A rumbling growl made him look up, eyes widening at the sight of a burly man covered in bones and the same skull.

* * *

Connor watched through the rear-view mirror as Derek strapped Liam to the bar of the prison transport van with a string of handcuffs from each wrist.

"All good?" Derek asked. Liam pulled taut on the cuffs, proving that they were solid. Derek nodded, pulling the triskellion talisman out of his jacket pocket, "Okay. I brought something to help you. This has been with my family for centuries. It's a very powerful, supernatural talisman. We use it to teach Betas how to control themselves on a full moon."

Derek looked over and saw Stiles giving him an incredulous look, knowing he was spouting bullshit to Liam. But Derek gave him a look to, 'play along.'

Stiles cleared his throat, "Yes, it's powerful. Very powerful."

* * *

Jessie sniffled and held back her whimpers as much as she could as she sat up against a rock, clutching her bleeding stomach. Tears were still streaming down her face as she tried to pull herself up on her feet. But every time she got close to straightening up, her wound exploded in pain and she crashed back to the ground with a big cry, "Ah!"

"Jessica, you have to get up, sweetheart." Jessie gasped as she looked over and saw her father. But not Hunter Hansen. Wesley Sange. He was just a little tanner than her, hair lighter and straighter, brown eyes, tall. But she knew it was him. She's seen him in pictures, in his own grave. He was smiling kindly at her, like he knew her. He stood there in plain clothes, jeans and a shirt. Not the tux he was laid to rest in. "Your mother and I are so proud of you. You've been so strong."

"Not strong enough," she rasped, pressing a hand back on her wound. "I know my friends are coming to save us. But Scott... they don't know what Kate did to him. They could kill him... unless I tell them. But I can't even get up."

"Yes, you can," he told her patiently. "You are strong. You can heal."

"No, I can't..." she gasped. "I'm not healing. Kate– she poisoned me with dead man's blood. I'm not going to heal."

"You used to think you couldn't heal from a bullet," he pointed out, referring to how she'd been shot by Matthias Wolfgang and she healed. "Or the claws of a werewolf." Like when Peter in full form had chased her at the High School and dug his claws into her ankle and she had healed them too. "That was all before you even came into your full powers. So, right now, you can heal from this."

"I can't," she cried, tears cascading down her cheeks as she shook her head in denial. "I'm too weak. I'm too thirsty. I need blood."

"No, you need the will," Wesley said as he crouched next to her. "You can get blood later, so you can fight against them. But now you need will, to get yourself up and get to your friends before Kate and Hilda do."

"And Peter," she added, eyes averted to the blood seeping between her fingers. "I know that he's got a play in this too."

"You're probably right," he agreed. "I know what you know. And so, you know you can trust me when I tell you that you have the power to heal from this, even with dead man's blood in your system."

"I can't, dad," she whimpered loudly. "It would have happened automatically if it was going to happen."

"Not necessarily," he told her. "Don't forget, you got these powers from my side of the family. Even when you were weaker, you were strong enough to heal from so much, including a bullet. What did you do then? How did you trigger it?"

"Peter coached me," she pointed out. She remembered how he had stood over her with Derek and Isaac, talking her through it.

"And what did he tell you to do?" Wesley asked knowingly.

"To use my anchor..." she said. "I didn't understand it then either. Anchors are used to gain control and be human, not the other way around."

"Maybe sometimes," Wesley said. "But I always thought of anchors as things that gave us strength. Power. Balance. And that's how you need to use it. Get scared. Get angry. Think about Scott. Think about what Kate did to him and what she made him do to you. About what could happen to him if you don't get up."

Jessie took a deep breath, thinking of Scott since she had first met him. Working with him at the clinic. Helping each other through their own transformations. He had been there for her through absolutely everything. Her breakups with Isaac. Her search for the truth about her biological parents. Her brother's death. Her death. Her resurgence of her emotions. He had been there for her, done all that for her. She could do this one thing for him. She could stand up.

Her eyes started glowing bright cobalt, lighting up the dark corner she was hunched over in. She felt her teeth coming out as she breathed heavily and slowly felt the stab wound start to close. She would do this. She would stand up and save Scott. She had to.

* * *

The sun had already fallen down, and the full moon was high in the sky. Braeden and Connor shared a look when they could hear Liam start to change.

Stiles just awake when Liam loudly surged forward, the metal of his cuffs clanging with the bar they were cuffed to. He and Derek shared a look when they saw his dark claws come out, clasping around the talisman in his fist. "Whatever you were gonna teach me..." he panted, eyes glowing yellow, "I think you better start."

* * *

Mason groaned at the pain in his head as he woke up in the school basement. And jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, fearing that huge beastly man was back.

But it was Lydia. "Are you okay?"

"My head..." he complained, flinching as she touched the bump on his forehead.

"Yeah, it's probably gonna hurt a lot," Lydia cringed at it.

Mason remembered how he'd gotten there then, and rushed to tell her, "There was this guy. Huge, really huge. He had a, a skull on his face."

"Yeah. I know," Lydia sighed, knowing she couldn't explain the reality to him. "I saw it, too."

"My phone's gone," Mason said with panic as he patted his pockets.

"Yeah. I think that's the point," she droned.

"Okay," Mason accepted that, but was still scared out of his mind. "Well, why, what's he gonna do to us?"

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "But it definitely doesn't want us to leave."

Mason frowned at her words, "Lydia, why do you keep saying "it"?"

They were interrupted by a low guttural growl. Mason gasped as he backed away, closer to her, "What is that thing?"

"Not human."

* * *

As they moved along on the road, Liam could feel his hold on control slipping. He started groaning and grunting, breathing heavier and heavier.

Derek leaned forward, "Liam, you with me? We have a mantra that we use. You repeat it, you focus on the words. It's like meditating. You say the words until you feel control coming back to you. Okay."

"Okay, okay!" Liam snapped, fangs poking out of his mouth, claws out. "What are the words?"

"Okay, look at the triskelion," Derek goaded him. "See the symbol? I have a tattoo on my back, it's the same thing. Each spiral means something. Alpha, Beta, Omega. It represents the idea that we can always rise to one and fall back to another. Betas can become Alphas."

"Alphas can become Betas," Stiles pitched in.

"Can Alphas become Omegas?" Liam asked with a grunt.

"All you have to do is say the three words," Derek said after nodding. "And with each one, you tell yourself you're getting calmer, more in control. Go ahead."

"Alpha, Beta..." Liam started saying with rapidness.

"Slower," Derek barked.

"Alpha... Beta... Omega..." Liam repeated slower. He groaned as his pulse spiked, "Alpha... Beta... Omega..."

Derek nodded and egged him on, "Good. Say it again. Remember, every time you say the words, you're getting calmer."

"Alpha, Beta... Omega," he growled, his eyes starting to glow yellow. Stiles gulped when he saw the handcuffs start breaking.

"Say it again," Derek goaded him.

"Derek, I don't think the powerful talisman of self-control is working," Stiles said, pulling his feet up on the bench to put some distance between him and Liam.

"Liam, say it again!" Derek yelled.

Liam let out a roar as he broke out of the cuffs, lunging towards Derek viciously. "Liam!" Derek yelled as he held the werewolf away.

He roared again, getting his hand around Derek's neck.

"Derek?" Connor called from the front.

"I think we're gonna need to go a little faster. Keep going!" Stiles yelled.

Derek held Liam off, "Liam! Liam... We're almost there." He flinched from the pinch of Liam's claws in his skin, groaning, "Keep focus!"

"Derek, I don't think Alpha, Beta, Omega is resonating with him," Stiles snapped, hedging closer.

"You know any other mantras?" Derek snapped back.

Stiles didn't appreciate the sarcasm, but then something occurred to him, "Yeah. I do." He leaned closer, trying to get the beta's attention, "Liam, Liam. What three things cannot long be hidden?"

Liam struggled to hold onto his humanity, trying to keep attacking.

"Liam!" Stiles yelled urgently. "Liam look at me. What three things cannot long be hidden? What three things?"

Liam grunted, panting heavily as he tried to force the words out that he'd heard since finding out about Satomi's pack. "Sun... The moon... The truth."

"That's it," Stiles encouraged him. "Say it again."

"Sun, the moon... The truth," Liam growled, backing off Derek.

"Derek?" Braeden asked this time.

"We're okay," he called back.

"Sun... Moon... And the truth," Liam whispered, leaning his head back against the wall of the van, fangs and claws receding as he closed his now-normal eyes.

They slowly came to a stop once they reached their destination. Liam let out a small scoff of disbelief, "I can't believe I did it. For a minute there, I thought I was gonna tear the two of you apart."

"Yeah. That would've made for an awkward ride home," Stiles said sarcastically. "So, thanks."

"Think you can bring the same level of control and strength inside La Iglesia?" Derek said, nodding his head out the back window.

Liam looked determined as he flicked his claws out skillfully on command.

"All right," Stiles admired. "We might actually be able to do this."

Derek bent out to open the doors for them and was immediately met by a growling beserker. The beast yanked him out of the van and tossed him against a large boulder like a rag doll. Derek didn't even have a chance to fight back before the beserker was stabbing him, making it to three by the time Connor and Braeden started shooting the monster. After emptying a view rounds into the thing, it stormed off.

Alex's car skidded to a stop just before the Church and Beth was already racing out, screaming, "Derek!?"

She and the bounty hunter crouched around him, the younger girl trying to put pressure on his wounds as he grunted in pain but tried to hold back on showing it.

"How bad is it?" Peter asked urgently as he sprinted over, seeming genuinely worried.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Derek grunted.

"You were stabbed!" Beth cried.

Georgie crouched by his side as well, "This doesn't look-"

"Just get to Scott and Jessie," he cut them off. "Just find them. We'll be right behind you." When the group all hesitated, he added, "Go. Go!" Peter reluctantly turned to start running into the Church, everyone else slowly following. Stiles still hesitated. This could be the worst-case scenario. This could be the end for Derek. His name had broken the last third of the deadpool. Lydia had showed up to his place screaming. Kate had somehow stripped him of his powers. He didn't have werewolf healing anymore.

Georgie gave him a kiss, "I'll stay. I'll try every healing spell I know. Go."

"Save them," Derek goaded him until he finally ran off after the others. When they were finally gone, he groaned in pain, "Lydia was right."

* * *

Peter and Alex took the lead as the group raced through the maze of stone hallways that were hidden under the sacred Church. They were running for their friends' lives, when Peter suddenly came to an abrupt halt. "Okay, everyone stop, stop, stop, stop, stop." When Alex stopped, he rested his hand behind his back on the hilt of his ax. The rest waited for Peter to give them a reason they weren't still running. "We gotta figure out where we are, then we gotta figure out how to find Scott and Jessie." Before he could look around, Stiles' phone rang and lit up with his dad's contact. Peter furrowed his eyebrows at the machine, "How do you even have service..."

Stiles ignored him as he took a few steps away from the others to take the call, "Hi, Dad. Okay, Dad, I know you're angry."

"Oh, I'm beyond angry," his father sounded livid. "I've reached a level of fury that you could not possibly comprehend."

Stiles grimaced but spoke quickly. They didn't have a lot of time. "Okay, well, when I get back, you can ground me."

"Ground you? Ground you?" his father was incredulous. "I'm going to hobble you!" But then he gave a small sigh and just sounded tired. "Now, please, tell me you're all right. Tell me that you're safe."

"You want me to lie?" Stiles asked him.

"Oh, God..." Stilinski sighed. "Okay. Tell me, tell me what I can do. How can I help?"

"Can you find Lydia?" Stiles immediately requested. "She was at the school when we called Mason to look for her, but now we're not hearing back from either of them. I don't know, Dad, I don't know what I'm doin'. You know, I'm just... I'm trying to save my friends."

"Okay. I'll find Lydia and Mason," his father promised. "You get Scott and Jessie. You save your friends."

"Dad, if it's one of the Berserkers at the school, you're gonna need firepower. A lot," he warned him before urging them off the phone, so he could join the group effort to save Jessie and Scott.

"What do we do now?" Liam asked.

Malia suddenly started pushing him down, yelling, "Duck!" just as a beserker came out of nowhere and clobbered the stone wall above their heads. "Go back. Get back! Go! Go, go, go, go!" The group raced away from the beast as it chased them.

* * *

"...hoc sana vulnus..." Georgie whispered, hovering her hands over Derek's many wounds.

She and Beth watched with rapt attention as nothing happened. Beth whined, "Why isn't it working?"

"I don't know..." Georgie whispered.

Connor was keeping attentive watch for the group as Braeden put a gun in Derek's hand, "Can you still pull a trigger?"

"Yeah," he grunted.

"I may not be able to heal him right now, but I can defend him," Georgie promised. She then looked at Beth on the other side of Beth, "Her too."

"Alex gave me a weapon," Beth pointed out, holding up her electrified baton.

"All right," Connor chimed in. "Just keep cover."

Georgie flipped to another page in her small black notebook and started whispering another spell, "Salutem, ne dolore suo.." There was a warm glow of fire lit up her palms, and Derek could feel the heat on his skin, but when the glowing stopped, his wounds were still there and bleeding.

Beth laid her hands back down on him to keep the pressure, looking at Georgie, "How many more spells do you have?"

Derek coughed as he leaned heavily on the boulder, "It's a mortal wound. And right now, I'm feeling pretty mortal."

"I'm not gonna let you die," Georgie sighed, determined.

They were all cut off by growling in the distance and knew that even if that beserker from earlier had left after attacking Derek, didn't mean it wasn't going to come back. Derek looked at the girls, "You might just have to concentrate on saving yourself."

* * *

Lydia and Mason sat on their knees as they tried to listen for any company in the school's basement with them. Mason whispered, "I don't hear it."

Lydia started crawling forward, "Come on."

But Mason held her back, "No, no. There's only one way out on this side of the basement."

She gave him a look, "I know. But if we don't get out of here, someone's going to die."

"How do you know that?" Mason didn't understand half of the things she was saying, or half the things that had been happening the last month since Liam started hanging out with the juniors.

"I just do," Lydia insisted. "We have to at least see if he's blocking the exit."

Accepting her vague reasoning, Mason nodded and leaned around the shelf they were behind, peering down the hallway for any sign of the weird monster. Suddenly, the bone man strode in from behind a wall and stared at them, growling.

Mason gulped and backed into the wall next to Lydia, "Yeah. He's blocking it."

* * *

The group raced away from the beserker as fast as they could, finding themselves in some sort of stone room, getting cornered until Stiles noticed a smaller hallway and made to race for it. Peter was ducking behind a pillar to hide, while Malia, Liam, and Kira – who whipped out her sword – turned to face the beast as it advanced.

"Go find Jessie and Scott," Malia told them Stiles and Alex, transforming into her wolf form for the fight. "Go!"

"Come on, mate," Alex urged Stiles along as they ran off.

* * *

Braden and Connor walked out into the open to see Kate sauntering their way with a beserker body guard. The soldiers each shared a look before opening fire on the supernatural beings. But Kate dodged behind her beserker while none of the bullets hurt it. It managed to smack the gun out of Connor's hands and lifted him up against the side of a nearby building with his throat, while Kate did the same with Braeden, chuckling.

"How much did they pay you?"

"Way more than you're worth," Braeden spat.

Kate growled and poised to strike, but suddenly a group of jeep sand SUVs with their brights on screeched into the scene and the Caliverras swamped out, opening fire on Kate and her monster. Chris Argent and Parrish climbed out of their own vehicle, joining the fray. Kate let out a cat-like growl as she started running away with her beast, releasing Connor and Braeden from her grip as the hunters charged after her.

Georgie was trying one of the last spells from her book on Derek, breathing under her breath and ducking with Beth as bullets rained over their heads while Kate ducked for cover and her beserker faced the guns, swiping at hunters, injuring a few.

But none of Georgie's spells were working, and Derek was breathing a little heavier, and slower. "Derek?"

He gave her a small smile, blood at the corner of his mouth starting to dry, and then his head lolled over to the side, his eyes closing.

"Derek?" Beth whispered, shaking his shoulder. But he didn't move.

Georgie stifled her tears.

* * *

Alex and Stiles raced through the caves and halls desperately looking for either Scott or Jessie – or hopefully both still together. Stiles let out a small scream when they ran into a worse for wear looking Jessie. But once he saw it was her, he exclaimed, "Jessie!" and hugged her tight, relieved to see that she was, at least, alive. "Are you okay?"

Alex and Stiles could see blood all over her body, particularly her stomach, but it seemed she had healed for the most part. "No time to explain – Scott is the beserker. Kate changed him into one somehow. If the others don't know that, they could kill him."

"That's why Lydia's not here," Stiles realized. "They won't know they're killing Scott."

"Let's go!" Jessie said, trying to push them back the way she came.

But Alex stopped her, noticing the bags under her eyes and the slight darkness in the irises, "Jessie, your eyes... your thirsty... How is that possible, you just had some-"

"Hilda," Jessie replied shortly. "She told Kate about dead man's blood. They poisoned me with it. It's like dehydration in a sense. Weakens vampires..."

"You need blood," Alex said. "Now – or you're not going to make it very far. It even looks like you've been stabbed. And I have no idea how you could have healed while poisoned with dead man's blood."

"No offense, but can this wait?" Stiles rushed. "I mean, they might be killing Scott right now!"

"If she doesn't get blood, she'll die in minutes!" Alex yelled. "Beth and Georgie are outside with Derek, there's no way we can get to her, through everyone else, in time."

"Then you go warn them!" Stiles said loudly. "You're the one with the ax and the fighting know-how, you go tell them and I'll feed Jessie."

At this, her eyes bugged, "What!? Stiles, I can't let you do that."

"I know I'm not Beth's perfect blood type, but my blood will still work enough, right?" he asked.

"He has a point," Alex said. "We can't risk you drinking from any supernatural."

"Jessie, you have to, or else you and Scott could die," Stiles stressed. He pushed Alex away from them, "Go, go!"

Alex gave Jessie a look to go with it before running off to warn the others. Stiles sat Jessie down against the stone wall and started pulling the collar of his shirt away from his neck. Jessie cut him off, looking at him curiously, "What are you doing?"

He gestured to the crevice of his shoulder and neck, "You need to feed, no arguments."

"Not from your jugular vein, this isn't Dracula," Jessie scoffed. "Give me your arm."

He fished off his flannel and stayed in his T-shirt and held out his left arm for her, angling the wrist towards her mouth. She gave him another look and pulled his arm taut, so the inside of his elbow rested beneath her teeth. Stiles watched with just a pinch of fear as her eyes started flowing bright cobalt and her canines elongated and sharpened. He almost pulled his arm away by instinct when her teeth started puncturing the skin of his elbow. But he was surprised it didn't hurt. It didn't even feel like an IV or getting blood drawn at a blood drive.

It actually felt a little warm, like the first rush of alcohol entering your bloodstream. It didn't make him feel drunk or dizzy, but warm and fuzzy.

When she finally pulled away, and licked his blood off of her lips neatly, her eyes seemed a bit more vibrant. "Let's go."

* * *

Mason watched with wide incredulous eyes as Lydia fished through a basket of old bats and lacrosse sticks for a weapon to use against the beserker. "Are you serious?"

"Very," she said shortly as she picked out a sturdy looking aluminum bat.

"A baseball bat?" he asked, looking back at their bone-covered guard. "Against that guy? Or thing or whatever it is."

She gave him a look filled with determination, "My friends are in trouble. And so is Liam, your best friend. They need me. I'm going for it." She stepped out into the hallway and swung the bat up in her hands as she approached it. "And yes, with a baseball bat."

Just as she grew close enough to start attacking, she heard Mason let out a great big cry, "Argh!" as he charged past her with a wooden bat for the beast in front of him. Unfortunately, the bat broke upon contact on the bone plate of the thing's shoulder. And the beserker smacked Mason away so hard that he slid across the floor to Lydia's feet. "I thought you said it wanted to keep us here, not hurt us."

"I think it changed its mind," she cried, hoping to think of something else to get away from it.

Just then they heard the Sheriff's voice, "Excuse me." The beserker turned to Stilinski and tossed something at him, "Catch," which, of course, it did.

When Lydia saw that it was an explosive, she quickly ducked down behind a shelf and wall with Mason as the Sheriff took cover on the other side and pressed the button in his hands. A loud BOOM went off as they ducked away from the flying chunks of cement. After the debris fell to the floor, Mason and Lydia stood and met with the Sheriff around the remains of bone shells.

"You both okay?" the adult asked them.

They both nodded, but Lydia wasn't totally appeased just yet. She knew there was still something happening, "It was after me. It wanted me to stay in Beacon Hills. I think this was all some sort of distraction."

"Because you knew they're trying to kill someone," the Sheriff realized.

Mason looked between them, leave it to them make him even more freaked out even after the immediate danger was over with. "Kill who?"

Lydia looked grave as she said, "Scott."

* * *

Malia, Peter, and Liam all took turns taking shots at the beserker, but it was able to deflect everyone and toss them away as well. But eventually, after tossing a bone blade to Malia, Peter grabbed one of its arms as well as Liam grabbed the other one and Peter shouted, "Aim for the skull! Kill it. Kill it now!"

Eyes blue, Malia raised the blade up in the air and poised to take the killing blow.

Alex raced in, ax out, eyes widening when he took in the scene, "No, wait, wait. Malia, wait! It's him!"

But she didn't heed his warning, bringing the blade down. Right before it made contact, a blur busted into the room and swiped the blade out of her hands. She looked over, confused, to see the glowing eyes of Jessie, looking stronger than she was when Alex left.

Stiles came up behind Alex, panting harshly. "It's Scott."

"Kate turned him into one of them," Jessie explained.

Liam peered into the skull's eyes, seeing the eyes of his Alpha. And when his grip went lax, beserker Scott struck again, tossing Peter and Liam away from him with two thuds. He lifted his foot up and kicked it into Malia, knocking her away. He then stared at Jessie, advancing.

"Scott..." she warned, backing away. The group was surprised when she seemed to almost allow herself to be taken up by the throat and held against the wall behind her. She grunted, gasping out, "Scott Rafael McCall, this isn't you." He growled, but she didn't give up. "You aren't a monster. It's me, it's Jessie. We're in this together, from beginning to end."

Scott paused, and she could see a flicker of recognition in her eyes. She could see him remembering all the times she'd said that to him before. In times of lost hope and hitting bottom. She always brought him back up with a beacon of light. He dropped her, flinching at her slight cough as he backed away. They all watched as he started struggling with himself and stripping off his bone armor piece by piece. When his claws finally grasped his skull mask, he literally ripped it off in half with a burst of golden light, letting out his signature alpha growl, face completely transformed, down to the red eyes.

Jessie raced to his side, putting her arms around his neck, completely relieved to see him okay. He whispered, "Thank you," in her ear before they pulled away and he stared at Peter with contempt and accusation. "You."

Everyone turned to look at Peter who was coolly staring back. What did Scott mean?

"The only one who knew as much as Argent about Berserkers," Scott announced. "About the Nagual. You taught Kate. You helped her. All for power."

"For my family's power," Peter snarled. "To be rightfully inherited by me. Not usurped by some idiot teenage boy, so incorruptible, he won't shed the blood of his enemies even when justified. You don't deserve your power. Not power like this." He started twisting his neck as he transformed into his full wolf form, eyes stale cold blue. He let out a roar.

Malia transformed again and went to attack her father, but he quickly smacked her away into a piece of stone. With a new monstrous voice, he tutted, "Oh, sorry, sweetheart, we'll talk about this later."

Jessie stepped forward to fight, but Scott quickly stopped her, "Jessie!"

She stopped and stood back from his side. She needed to let him have this fight. But she'd be damned if she didn't step in if it looked like Peter was winning.

"You were my Beta first, Scott. It was my bite that changed your life," Peter goaded with a graveling growl. "And my bite that can end it."

"Then, end it, Peter," Scott dared him. "Because you won't get another chance."

* * *

Outside, the fighting was still very much at large as bullets sprayed through the air, trying to take down the beserkers, and Kate as she swiped and killed every hunter she came across if she didn't maim them first. Jordan cursed as he emptied another clip, shouting to Argent, "They're not going down! Nothing's getting through that armor and I'm running out of ammo."

Chris ducked behind his SUV, hearing the growls of his monstrous sister as she attacked and sliced at her enemies. She was a monster now. Really, she probably had been a monster much longer than she had been supernatural if he was honest with himself. But now, he had to stop her. With a tremendous amount of guilt settling onto his shoulders, he loaded a special bullet into his gun, filled with the yellow wolfsbane he'd found for this occasion.

Georgie reigned in her emotions after watching Derek breathe his last breath to hand his gun to Beth. She peeked her head over the boulder they were crouched behind and saw the hunters trying to take down the beserker with no success. It didn't even look like it registered the contact of the slaughter of bullets. It made no impact. But she couldn't stand by anymore and not do anything. She had to try and help. She didn't have the stomach to face Kate. She was too human looking. But there was nothing human about her bone-slave.

So, Georgie jumped from behind the rock and ran into the fray, ignoring the concerned shouts from Beth behind her and Jordan who noticed her sudden appearance. She raised her hand and tried to recreate the feelings she had when she set fire to the bed. When she woke up from the memory of the house fire. When she realized her sister had been banished into the Nemeton. The skin of her forearms turned an almost glowing red color, like the wires of a conventional oven were beneath her skin. And it started to burn quickly, like lighting a match. Suddenly the palms of her hands were bright red and then flames were shooting out of them, heading right for the beserker's head.

The hunters around immediately ducked away and retreated with their weapons when they saw what she was doing. Even Kate stopped in a frustrated awe as her beserker let out a loud grunt of pain and started racing away from Georgie's fire.

When she noticed that he was gone, she immediately let the fire cease and let her tired arms swing to her sides. But she didn't notice La Loba racing for her back, arm poised in the air to strike. But it froze when a loud howl ripped through the air.

Kate backed off of Georgie as the two looked around for the source of the sound. Georgie looked back behind her to her previous hiding spot, to see Beth standing there alone with the most shocked expression she'd ever seen on the young girl's face.

And then everyone's attention was on the midnight black wolf that jumped into the desert clearing, its eyes glowing bright blue, and Georgie knew who it was. She jumped away from Kate when it attacked her. Kate started screaming and trying to get away or kill it. But it was much more powerful than her, and managed to get a chunk before it finally backed off, slowly transforming into a tall, nude man. Derek Hale, eyes back to their powerful blue.

Kate stared up at him with wide eyes, "You were... You were dead."

He shook his head, seeming at peace. Calmer than Georgie or Beth had ever seen him. "No. I was evolving. Something you'll never do."

They were but off by a familiar growl as a charred beserker reentered the scene, sensing that its master was in danger. Derek didn't even seem fazed as it made to attack him. He clapped his hands over the skull and squeezed until it exploded in a brilliant pile of gold dust.

As most looked at the scene with awe, Kate stood to make her escape. But Chris poked out from behind his car and poised his gun for her, taking the shot. She let out a wailing cry as she fell to the ground, holding her side. She turned and looked to see her brother holding his gun out, already feeling the toxic effects of the wolfsbane. With a betrayed and shocked look, she choked out, "Chris?" before scrambling to her feet and crawling off into the Church.

* * *

Jessie clutched to Stiles side as they stood with Alex behind a pillar as Scott and Peter fought. Malia and Kira had their arms wrapped around each other across the room, while Liam stood with his knees always bent, like he was ready to jump in for his Alpha at every moment. Every second or so, he'd lock eyes with Jessie and she silently warned him not to.

Peter mocked Scott as he tossed him around, the more experienced fighter of the two. He tossed him into a pillar, "Come on, Scott. Come on! Pathetic."

Scott groaned as he blocked Peter's attacks and grunted in pain when Peter tossed him to the floor with a kick to his gut.

"Fight like an Alpha, Scott."

Scott let out a growl as he got Peter onto his back and punched his chest twice before the monstrous former-Alpha got a hold of his throat and tossed him onto the pillar. Scott jumped so his feet hit the pillar and used the momentum to run across it and spin around to Peter's back, tossing his opponent into the pillar.

Peter snarled as he kicked Scott away. "You want to defeat me? You're going to have to kill me!"

Liam, against Jessie's silent warnings, made a step forward, just itching to defend Scott. But Peter caught this movement with a smirk, and picked up an old pew with a snarl, tossing it at the inexperienced beta werewolf. Liam ducked away as the bench smacked into the pillar above him and shattered, leaving him unharmed.

But just the threat seemed to awaken something in Scott that Jessie hadn't seen in a while. With a calm determination, she could see the spark that made him the True Alpha in his glowing red eyes. He stood to his feet and marched to Peter. Peter attacked with the same ferocity he always had, still trying to kill the younger boy. But with blurred movements that rivaled Jessie's speed, Scott blocked and dodged them all. He let Peter attack him for a while, none of them getting through, until he finally decided to attack Peter himself. He landed a bunch to the side of his face, surprised them all with the snap motion of Peter's face whipping to the side. Scott landed and punch to his gut, dodging his former Alpha's swipe. He had Peter against the stone table that Scott had been chained to by Kate, and then reared his fist back to uppercut Peter right on his chin with so much power that the man sailed into the air, over the table, and landed in a heap against anther broken pew of wood against the wall.

Scott jumped onto the stone platform, standing over Peter and he stated clearly, "You were never an Alpha, Peter. But you were always a monster." He jumped down in front of the panting werewolf, and raised his fist back up, smacking into Peter's head strongly enough to knock him out in one fell strike.

Jessie was across the room in a flash of movement once Peter stopped moving, clutching to Scott's side and looking over him for any more injuries that needed attention. He seemed to be checking her over as well, his eyes landing on the large blood spot on her shirt where he had stabbed her. His face fell as he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay," she tried to assure him, cupping his face in her hands so he was forced to look at her and not the remnants of her injuries. "I'm okay."

"No, it's not," he told her. "I could have killed you."

"But you didn't," she told him.

"Unfortunately."

Everyone whipped around to see Hilda strutting into the room with a scowl on her thin lips. She stared at Jessie with vicious anger, "He was supposed to kill you. You were weak."

Jessie leaned on one foot as she stayed at Scott's side when facing the woman that wanted her dead, "I know – dead man's blood was a good plan. But you forgot that we have friends who would stop at nothing to save us."

"Hello again," Alex greeted his maker, swinging his ax out in his hand. He wanted to go ahead and cut off her head. She deserved nothing less for nearly slicing his off. But he knew this had to be Jessie's call.

Hilda faced him, curling up her lip, "You were such a disappointment."

"Glad to have been," he muttered.

"You failed, Hilda," Jessie cut back in. "I'm giving you one chance to walk away, only because Alex is alive again."

Hilda scowled, "You think I'm just going to let you get away?"

Jessie smirked, her eyes starting to glow, "Nope." With a blur, she was no longer next to Scott, but lifting Hilda into the air with a hand around her throat, cutting off her air. For a brief second, he thought she was going to kill Hilda. But Jessie was no longer the emotionless robot that didn't care about killing. Jessie was herself again, so he trusted her.

Hilda tried to grasp for Jessie's hand to pull it away, but Jessie with fresh blood in her system was too strong for her.

"Alex, get her arms, please," Jessie requested as she lowered Hilda to the ground and kicked her legs so she was kneeling.

Alex smirked as he hitched his ax to his back and walked over to hold Hilda's arms behind her back. She was able to twist her head enough to snarl at him. And everyone could see her face morph into a decayed, gray corpse of a face with rotted skin and white eyes. The true face of a hexenbeist. Alex just growled back, voice sounding raspy, as his face morphed the same way hers did. She backed off, turning back to Jessie with a normal face as Alex held her.

"Malia, I need you to hold her mouth open."

The were-coyote didn't ask as she did as asked, but everyone noticed how Hilda started thrashing in their hold once she realized what Jessie was going to do. Liam had to step in and help Alex hold her arms back while Malia and Scott pried her lips open.

Jessie lifted her arm to her lips as her teeth grew into her fangs and bit into the vein, letting the blood spill down her forearm.

Stiles was confused. "Won't that just heal her?"

"Vampire blood might heal her," Jessie said. "But Grimm blood for a Hexenbiest is a fate worse than death. To them at least." She held her bleeding wrist over Hilda's open mouth and pressed it over her lips and let the blood drip down her throat, her choking hand slackening to help its journey. When she was done, she pulled her wrist away and licked it clean, so it healed, stepping back, satisfied.

Everyone watched in shock as Hilda started to scream in horror and pain, body seizing on the stone floor of the Church. Then a green aura of herself, like her spirit, projected out of her body, looking like the ghost of the decayed Hexenbiest form, screeching with her, before it flew out of her body and disappeared into the air.

"What just happened?" Kira asked quietly, wide-eyed as Malia returned to her side and took her hand.

"Grimm blood strips Hexenbiests of their powers," Alex answered, looking down on the shivering woman with disdain. This was still less than she deserved in his eyes, but it was Jessie's choice.

"Let's go, guys," Jessie said. "She won't be a problem anymore."

* * *

Kate grunted and gasped in pain as Chris chased her through the tunnels of La Iglesia. She whipped around to face him, staring between him and his gun. "You want to kill me, Chris?" She sounded so betrayed.

"No," he admitted. But at this point, he wasn't sure what choice he had anymore. "But I don't want to save you anymore either. I don't know that you're worth saving."

"Just like when we were kids," she snarled at him, trying to turn the tables. "Always trying to make me the bad guy. You can't see them clearly anymore, can you?" She bared her teeth as she hissed, "Scott's not your little hero. None of 'em are. Not when they killed Allison." She said this with real pain on her face.

Chris' face echoed that pain and grief for his daughter. But he was also so angry with his sister for using Allison's sacrifice to justify her vendetta. "Allison died. She died saving her friends. Who would you die for? Hmm?"

Kate didn't have a real answer for that question. But she also knew she didn't need one. If Chris was going to shoot her down, he would have done so already. "You're not gonna kill me. And you're not gonna catch me." She started backing away down another tunnel, clutching her injured arm to her side as she breathed raggedly. "Not you. Not Peter. And not the Calaveras." With that said, she turned and raced off. And this time, Chris was too tired and too stricken to follow. Once he couldn't see her anymore, his face crumpled as he let his grief truly show through, letting out a cry for his fallen from grace sister, and his fallen daughter.

* * *

"There's enough yellow wolfsbane to keep Peter out for the trip back. But be careful," the older werewolf warned Scott and Jessie as Derek and Connor lifted Peter into the back of the prison transport van for the trip back to Beacon Hills.

Scott looked warily between the man he admired, and the Calaveras left standing, "You're really going with them?"

He nodded, "I made a deal with the Calaveras weeks ago. They'll leave you alone. All of you. But only if I help them catch Kate."

"What if you can't?" Jessie asked. And they both knew she was asking more than about his ability to track her and hunt her. She was also asking about his willingness to do what needed to be done about Kate.

"I'll find her," was all Chris could swear to. "Someone has to."

Connor slapped the back of the van closed, meeting Braeden at the front, "You're not really a U.S. Marshal, are you?"

"I was," she drawled. "But I spent too long looking for one person. It's hard to keep a job when part of it becomes an obsession."

"Who were you after?"

"All I know is a code name," she said. "The Desert Wolf."

Stiles had immediately bee-lined for Georgie when he made it out of the Church, wrapping his arms around her tired form once he reached her. Jessie and Scott checked on Beth, sharing a look with the now-healed Derek. Malia and Kira exchanged relieved kisses, and Liam and Beth shared a look.

Nervously, the beta approached the human girl, "Hi…"

Beth was still upset with him, but their petty fight seemed so small in the light of what they'd just been through. So, she just gave him a wry smile, "Hey. You made it through your second full moon. Congrats."

He flushed, knowing she must still be mad at him, but hoping that he could make it up to her. "I wouldn't have been able to without help." There was an awkward lull of silence as Beth didn't know how to respond. But Liam spoke up, "Listen… I'm sorry about how I treated you earlier. I never should have said what I did. It was the farthest thing from the truth. And I really hope you can forgive me."

Beth looked at her earnest and anxious face and knew how genuine he was being. And she knew she should just be kind and say that she forgave him, because she did. But as she habitually bit her lip, and a memory came to mind, she found herself smirking as she made a show of pulling her lip out from her teeth and saying, "Sorry – forgot you hate when I bit my lip…"

Liam frowned, "When did I say—" he cut off with a fierce blush when he remembered telling her that he wanted to kiss her when she bit her lip, while he was practically drunk. That was probably the most embarrassing moment of his life – next to the one happening now. "I don't hate it…" he trailed off. What could he say?

A quiet throat clearing behind Beth's shoulder signaled Liam to look and see Stiles standing there with Georgie, gesturing for him to do something haphazardly.

Fighting down the heat in his cheeks and the nerves building up in his gut, he faced Beth with some false confidence. "I don't hate it. It just makes me really want to do this." Before she could guess at his meaning, he slowly started leaning forward until his lips met hers.

As butterflies exploded, Beth kissed him back, shuffling closer to him as he cupped her cheek. When he pulled away, they were both smiling and blushing with a vengeance. But that didn't matter. It didn't even matter that everyone had witnessed their first kiss and were still watching them now. The only thing that mattered was that tonight wasn't the end of anything, but a new beginning of so many little things.

* * *

As soon as they reached Beacon Hills, Stiles and Georgie split from the group to see the Sheriff at the station. When Stilinski caught sight of his son racing through the station, he was right at the door of his office when Stiles reached it and pulling his son into a fierce hug.

Stiles hugged him back just as tightly but couldn't resist a dig at his father's ragged form after facing off a beserker to save Lydia and Mason. "Dad, you smell terrible."

Stilinski hadn't expected anything different, "Yup. You do too." He pulled away from Stiles to pull Georgie into a soft hug, "Come here. I'm just so glad you're both safe." He pulled Stiles into a group hug with his other arm, glad his kids were all right. "Hey, what do you say we get outta here, get something to eat?"

"Great. I'm starving," Stiles cheered.

Stilinski nodded and kept an arm around Georgie's shoulder as they started to leave the office. Stiles made to follow but was suddenly stopped with a metallic clang. He looked back and saw that he was handcuffed to his dad's desk. He weakly called after them, "Yo, Daddy?"

Georgie looked back at the sight with an amused grin. But the Sheriff ignored him, looking at her, "Italian?"

She smiled, "Sounds perfect."

"Hey!" Stiles tried to pull of his cuffs, but it wasn't budging. "Dad? Bring me back something?"

* * *

Liam stammered through his explanation of the last couple days to Coach in the locker room the next day. "Then Stiles said that Scott and Jessie were stuck in Mexico which was why they missed the game. Uh, so we went down to Mexico to drive them back from Mexico and that's why we all missed practice. 'Cause... We were all in Mexico."

Coach gave Scott a look, "You took Jessie on a date to Mexico?"

Scott grimaced, "It was our first real date."

"In Mexico?" the man repeated.

Stiles jumped in awkwardly, "They wanted to do something special."

Coach stared them down for a bit before saying, "Okay. I believe you."

Liam let out a breath as he asked in disbelief, "Really?"

Coach scowled at him, "Absolutely not. But I've had experiences south of the border that would knock the genitals off you boys." He gave Scott and Stiles a hard look, "Still, let me be clear to you two. This kid's the best talent I've seen in years. So, he's your responsibility now. You boys are gonna stick together. You're gonna look out for each other. And you're gonna have each other's backs. You got it?"

"We got it," Scott said as he shared a smile with his new beta. He would watch out for him, mentor him. Do whatever an alpha was meant to do.

* * *

Alex poised a fist to knock on the Martin door when Lydia pulled the door open. He let his fist freeze in the air before letting it fall, "Did Jessie tell you I was coming?"

She shook her head, "No – I could just… sense you."

Alex rose one eyebrow up expectantly, "Sense me?"

"Maybe it's because of what Meredith said, about you feeling like death," Lydia theorized. "Banshees are supposed to sense death."

"Hmmm," Alex hummed. It didn't really matter to him one way or the other. Mysteries didn't bother him unless solving them meant saving his someone he cared about. "I wanted to see how you were. You had your own little adventure up here while we partied in Mexico."

Lydia humorous scoffed at his way of putting it, and said, "I'm fine. I'm just glad everyone made it out of La Iglesia all right."

Alex observed that she was carrying her purse and asked, "Going somewhere?"

She nodded, "The Sheriff's station to meet Georgie and Parrish." When they both made no move, she added, "Do you… want to come with?"

"Sure," he answered gruffly, already moving to his car. "I'll drive."

* * *

"So, everything is okay now?" Paula asked her daughters from across the kitchen counter. Hunter sat in his wheelchair at her side, tall enough to see over the counter's surface and glare at his daughters for worrying him so much.

Jessie and Beth nodded. "Peter and Hilda won't be a problem anymore," Jessie promised.

"And Kate shouldn't be showing up again now that she's on the run from her brother and the Calaveras," Beth added.

Paula and Hunter were still confused at all the details of their story, but it didn't matter. Their daughters were safe. And as they gathered in a group hug, the parents hoped it would stay that way.

* * *

Lydia stood over Parrish at his desk as she set down a black, hard covered book in front of him, "Jessie let me scan and make some copies. We thought it would be a good idea to have duplicates around."

"What is it?" the deputy asked.

Lydia said, "It's called the Bestiary," as she opened the pages and showed him the intricate drawings of Jessie's ancestors and detailed profiles of every supernatural or parahuman creature they'd come across. "Whatever you are, it might be in here."

"We'd like to help you figure it out," Georgie said from her stance with Alex in front of the desk. She knew this man was part of her coven, because he had to be her sister's soulmate, and therefore the answer to freeing Sonia from the Nemeton. So, she could do whatever it took to help him through his own journey with his abilities and ease him into this new world.

* * *

Peter was still feeling sluggish from the effects of wolfbane as he was dragged through Eichen House's sixth floor unit by two orderlies. They dumped into a room with a plastic divide and left him without a word.

He stared vacantly and tiredly at the opaque wall, "You actually think this is gonna hold me? You think you can shoot me up with wolfsbane, make me docile and weak, and I won't find a way out?" His voice rose as he got some more strength in his throat, but it was for naught. No one could hear him.

Or so he thought.

"It's not just the wolfsbane," a voice said behind him. Peter turned with a scowl to see a man reclining on the cot behind him, reading a book. He definitely looked like he belonged here, with dirty gauze wrapped around his head. "It's the mountain ash wood framework of the cells. It's all around us."

"Who the hell are you?" Peter snarled.

Valack stood with a cool and calm expression as he tossed his book over and stood up. "I could tell you. But it's easier if I just... show you." He unwrapped the gauze from his head, revealing the gaping hole in his forehead between his eyes.

Peter stared into the hole curiously, his eyes narrowing when he saw something just inside. Fear injected his veins when a third eye opened and blinked at him. He instantly turned to the wall and banged on it, screaming in fear, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Scott smiled when Jessie opened the door for him. Derek and Marissa were moving away soon, so the whole group was having one big dinner at the Hansen household. Scott stepped inside and took her hands in his as he greeted her with a kiss. "Is everyone here already?"

"Just about," she said. "Mom and dad want to practically give you a medal for protecting me and Beth this whole time. But all I can say is thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you," he said as he brushed her hair back out of her face. "I'm always going to love you. That goes for our friends and family too."

She smiled, kissing him deeply, "We're in this together, from beginning to end. Forever."

"Forever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this story. Still working on the next one.


End file.
